President George W Bush has met with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, in a meeting opposed by China that came just 10 days before the US leader visits Beijing for a summit.
Bush, whose previous two meetings with the Dalai Lama drew angry complaints from China, is scheduled to visit Beijing on Nov 19 for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and is expected to raise the Tibet issue with him.
The US president made a terse reference to the meeting at an award ceremony at the White House but offered no further information about it.
Aides to the Dalai Lama had told reporters earlier that he would appeal to Bush to prod Chinese leader Hu to give ‘genuine autonomy’ to the Himalayan territory at their summit later this month.
