BEIJING — The Chinese state-run media on Friday lambasted President Obama after he publicly, and warmly, greeted the Dalai Lama during a prayer breakfast in Washington, calling it a shortsighted move aimed at dividing China.
The criticisms, expressed in a number of commentaries, followed earlier warnings that any public encounter between the president and the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, would harm relations between Beijing and Washington.
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“If China doesn’t protest, then many other leaders would meet up with the Dalai Lama, and that would have a negative impact on our efforts to bring stability to Tibet,” he said.