China: Mexican meeting with Dalai Lama damages relations

CHINA said a meeting between Mexican president Felipe Calderon and the Dalai Lama damaged relations between the countries and interfered with China’s internal affairs.

Calderon met for about 45 minutes on Friday the Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who was in Mexico to speak at a conference on peace as the basis for happiness.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said the meeting “grossly interfered with China’s internal affairs, hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and harmed Chinese-Mexican relations”.

“We demand the Mexican side adopt measures to eliminate the bad impact and to safeguard the sound and stable development of Chinese-Mexican relations,” Ma said in a statement.

Beijing opposes meetings between foreign leaders and the Dalai Lama. It considers him a separatist intent on ending Chinese rule over Tibet.