China is accusing the United States of grossly interfering in its internal affairs and seriously damaging relations after President Barack Obama met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the White House.
The president met the Nobel Prize laureate for 45 minutes, praising him for embracing non-violence while reiterating that the United States did not support independence for Tibet.
China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of being a separatist who supports the use of violence to set up an independent Tibet, summoned a senior US diplomat in Beijing to express its displeasure.
"This action is a gross interference in China's internal affairs, hurts the feelings of the Chinese people and damages Sino-US relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.
"The Dalai Lama has for a long time used the banner of religion to engage in anti-China splittist activities," he added.
The incident comes at an extra sensitive moment for China, the United States' biggest creditor, with leaders in Washington at odds over how to raise the $14.3 trillion US debt ceiling in time to avoid default.
China holds more than $1 trillion in US Treasury debt and would be particularly exposed should Congress fail to reach a deal by 2 August.
A US default could rocket up interest rates, sink the value of the US dollar and hurt the global economy.
