Chinese foreign minister asks US 'respect' on Tibet
AFP
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Thursday urged the United States to "respect" Beijing's position on Tibet after a row over human rights in the Himalayan territory.
"Tibet is an inalienable part of China’s territory and Tibetan affairs are exclusively China’s internal affairs," Yang told a think tank during a visit to Washington.
"I hope that people from various sectors in the United States will appreciate these facts, and understand and respect the Chinese people’s position of upholding state sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.
Yang Jiechi was speaking to a closed-door luncheon at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies before a meeting with President Barack Obama. The think tank later released footage of the event, which was not publicly announced beforehand.
The White House said Obama voiced hope in the meeting that China would make progress in now-stalled talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.
China was angered after the United States voiced concern about the situation in Tibet on the 50th anniversary this week of Beijing's bloody clampdown on an uprising in Tibet that forced the Dalai Lama to flee into exile.
In his address to the think tank, Yang called for greater cooperation between the United States and China on issues including the global economic crisis and climate change.
"China and the United States have a new historic opportunity for the development of their relations," Yang said.
"China and the United States should and can set an example in achieving win-win progress and making greater joint efforts for an even better world."
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Yang Jiechi was speaking to a closed-door luncheon at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies before a meeting with President Barack Obama. The think tank later released footage of the event, which was not publicly announced beforehand.
The White House said Obama voiced hope in the meeting that China would make progress in now-stalled talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.
China was angered after the United States voiced concern about the situation in Tibet on the 50th anniversary this week of Beijing's bloody clampdown on an uprising in Tibet that forced the Dalai Lama to flee into exile.
In his address to the think tank, Yang called for greater cooperation between the United States and China on issues including the global economic crisis and climate change.
"China and the United States have a new historic opportunity for the development of their relations," Yang said.
"China and the United States should and can set an example in achieving win-win progress and making greater joint efforts for an even better world."
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