The third meeting between the president of the United States and the Tibetan leader takes place in the midst of a climate of gradual distrust between Washington and Beijing
Eva Saiz Washington 21 FEB 2014 – 18:35 CET
Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama during their meeting at the White House. / PETE SOUZA(White House)
The president of the United States, Barack Obama, He received the Dalai Lama at his residence this Friday, a meeting that has angered the Chinese Government, which defined the meeting as “a serious interference” in the national politics of his country. The second visit of the Tibetan spiritual leader to the White House –This is the third time that both leaders meet- It occurs in a growing climate of mistrust between Washington and Beijing, driven by the latest territorial disputes between China and its neighbors.
The White House has tried to give the meeting a low profile, cas he did the last time they both met in Washington, in 2011, in what is considered a small concession to China. Both have met behind closed doors and in the Map Room, a room that lacks the meaning of the Oval Office, where the president receives the heads of state. El Gobierno de EE UU ha querido dejar claro que Obama recibe al Dalai Lama "en su calidad de líder religioso y cultural”. During the meeting, The president defended the cultural and religious autonomy of Tibet but insisted that Washington “does not support its independence from China”. Obama urged Beijing to resolve differences with the region through dialogue.
Some explanations that have not satisfied the Chinese regime, which on Thursday requested, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that the meeting be canceled, ensuring that “relations with China could be seriously harmed”, otherwise. Beijing has issued this type of warning on each occasion (2011 and 2012) in which the American president has met the Dalai Lama, exiled in India since China invaded Tibet in 1959. On this occasion, The objections of the Government chaired by Xi Jinping come at an extremely sensitive time for the relationship between both countries.
The Obama Administration has decided to look to the Pacific to try to contain China's gradual economic and military influence in the region.. The United States has strived to play a moderating role in Beijing's territorial dispute in the China Sea with its neighbors and has been firm in not recognizing thehe legitimacy of the expansion of the no-fly zone unanimously established by the Xi Government at the end of last year. Added to these complications are Washington's traditional recriminations about the observance of human rights in the Asian country and their complaints about cyber attacks.
The visit of the Tibetan leader to the White House is part of a three-week tour of the United States in which the defense of the autonomy of Tibet is not on his agenda., busy with meetings with businessmen and Think Tanks to talk about compassion or happiness. China's growing authority over foreign powers has decreased the meetings of political leaders with the Nobel Peace Prize winner, however, after the economic recession, It is the big companies that demand the presence of the Dalai Lama, interested in the possibility of incorporating the principles of Buddhism into their way of doing business.
This weekend, The religious leader will move to Silicon Valley in California, where you will participate in an event before 400 business, including the founders of Adobe and Intel, to talk about compassion. This is a new audience that the Dalai wants to attract “to establish the path of Tibet for new generations.”, they point to EL PAÍS from the International Campaign for Tibet, an organization defending human rights in the Asian region.
