Washington: US President Barack Obama will meet Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on February 18 at the White House in a move that will surely antagonise China.
Obama had postponed a meeting with the international figurehead for China-controlled Tibet last autumn, not wanting to upset relations ahead of a visit to Beijing.
But the plans are back on the agenda.
"The Dalai Lama is an internationally respected religious leader and spokesman for Tibetan rights, and the president looks forward to an engaging and constructive dialogue," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Thursday.
US-Chinese relations have hit a snag in recent weeks over financial and economic differences, and US plans to sell weapons to Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a rogue province.
The Chinese are sensitive to the US relationship with Tibet and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. Washington has sought to play down the dispute.
"We have a mature enough relationship with the Chinese that we can agree on issues that are of mutual interest, but we also have a mature enough relationship that we know the two countries on this planet are not always going to agree on everything, and we'll have those disagreements," Gibbs said.
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