Obama, Dalai Lama meet despite China's appeal

US President Barack Obama met on Friday with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, despite China's appeal not to do so, CNN reported.The White House said in a statement that Obama "reiterated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions and the protection of human rights for Tibetans" in China.China urged Obama to call off the meeting at the White House."By arranging a meeting between the President and the Dalai Lama, the US side will grossly interfere in the internal affairs of China, seriously violate norms governing international relations and severely impair China-U.S. relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.The Obama administration says it supports the Dalai Lama's "Middle Way" approach to the political tensions over protests for Tibetan independence.The White House said Obama stressed that he encourages "direct dialogue to resolve long-standing differences and that a dialogue that produces results would be positive for China and Tibetans."Obama reiterated the US position that Tibet "is part of" China and that the United States does not support Tibet independence.The Dalai Lama stated that he is not seeking independence for Tibet and hopes that dialogue between his representatives and the Chinese government will resume.