China warns Obama over meeting with Dalai Lama

Beijing, Feb 6: China has warned that "positive trends" in its relations with the US will be reversed if President Barack Obama meets the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama. A commentary in the People's Daily, the official organ of the Communist Party of China, also said that "chumming with a secessionist" would amount to "playing with fire". Obama and the Dalai Lama were to interact at the National Prayer Breakfast. "Any possible meeting or encounter between the two is sure to have negative consequences because the Dalai Lama is a political liability which backfires," the commentary said. It said that issues regarding Tibet concerned China's core interests and national sentiments.