Unwise for Obama to meet Dalai Lama

US-China expert says:

US: It is "unwise" for President Barak Obama to meet with the Dalai Lama because the session would negatively affect American ties with China, says an expert on US-China relations.

Instead, Obama should spend additional time with Chinese leaders and focus on more important issues instead of harming U.S.-China relations by meeting with the Dalai Lama, Fred Teng, a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations, told Xinhua on Tuesday. "We need more constructive relations between the United States and China and it will be in the best interest of both the American and Chinese people," said Teng, who also is president of the Chinese Community Relations Council. In an op-ed article published in the Huffington Post on Tuesday, Teng said that in recent weeks, the US-China relationship have been rocked by a number of geopolitical crises, some unforeseen and others a result of archaic policies that "should no longer exist in our current political climate."

"During this critical time, President Obama should focus on building a constructive relationship with China, and not divert his attention from the end goal of building mutual understanding and trust," Teng wrote.

On the heels of an arms sales to Taiwan and at a time when the US relies heavily on China on a number of thorny geopolitical issues worldwide, "if President Obama now invites the Dalai Lama to visit the White House, he will be instigating a potentially destructive downward spiral in relations," Teng wrote.

Tibet was part of China long before Hawaii became a US state, Teng noted. He pointed out that the American Congress passed a law known as the Apology Resolution, which apologized for the government's role in supporting the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Xinhua