DPA/AFP/Washington

The two Nobel peace laureates met in the more private surrounding of the White House map room instead of the Oval Office, which Obama usually uses to meet foreign leaders and visiting dignitaries, and photographers were not allowed, according to Fox News.

Obama emphasised his “strong support” for preserving Tibet’s “unique religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions and the protection of human rights for Tibetans” in China.

Obama and the Buddhist leader reinforced their stance that neither one is seeking independence for Tibet. Obama emphasised that the US position is that “Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China”, according to a statement issued after the meeting.

The Dalai Lama said that he “hopes that dialogue between his representatives and the Chinese government will resume”, according to the statement.

The 78-year-old exiled Buddhist monk and spiritual leader is spending several weeks in the United States on a speaking tour.

In announcing the meeting late on Thursday, Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said the US is “concerned about continuing tensions and the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibetan areas of China”.

Obama last met the Dalai Lama at the White House in 2011 in talks that triggered an angry response from Beijing, which said the encounter had harmed ties between the world’s two largest economies.

China, which calls the Dalai Lama a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and accuses him of seeking independence for Tibet, was quick to react to Thursday’s announcement of a meeting.

“China is firmly opposed to this,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement. “We urge the US side to treat China’s concern in a serious way and immediately cancel the planned meeting.”

Hua called the Dalai Lama a “political exile who has long been engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion”.

Hayden said that the administration would renew calls for the Chinese government to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions.

China has for decades opposed foreign dignitaries meeting the Buddhist leader, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

In Beijing, Hua said that China had “already lodged solemn representations” with the United States.

“The US leader’s meeting with the Dalai is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, a severe violation of codes of international relations and will seriously impair China-US relations,” she said.

The Dalai Lama says he advocates greater autonomy for Tibetans rather than independence.

But tensions between Tibetans and the Chinese authorities run high.

More than 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire and committed suicide in recent years to protest against what they see as oppression by China’s government and controls on their right to exercise their religion.

“The Dalai Lama is essentially a political fugitive whose group instigates separatist activities including self-immolations,” the state-run Xinhua news agency said in a commentary.

The visit comes on the heels of a trip to Beijing by US Secretary of State John Kerry, but well ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit there in November that Obama is expected to attend – meaning that China could not retaliate by canceling a high-profile visit.

Obama is due in Asia in April, but has no stop in China planned – though the visit will be dominated by questions over Beijing’s relations with its neighbours.

Todd Stein, Washington-based director of government relations for the International Campaign for Tibet, hailed Obama’s meeting as another sign of US support for preservation of the Himalayan region’s culture.

“President Obama’s hosting of the Dalai Lama is a continued expression of support for his work, his message and his cause,” Stein said.

Obama came under domestic criticism in 2009 when he did not see the Dalai Lama during a visit to Washington, as the new president looked to start on the right foot with China.

But the optimism of the early days of the Obama presidency has dimmed, with the US pressing China on a range of concerns including its territorial disputes with US allies Japan and the Philippines and Beijing’s alleged cyber espionage campaign.

In an interview with Time magazine before his meeting, the Dalai Lama praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for “fearlessly” fighting corruption.

But he condemned censorship and said that China’s judicial system needed to be improved to international standards.

The Dalai Lama waves to people as he departs the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) after a discussion on Wednesday on ‘Unlocking the Mind and Human Happiness’ in Washington, DC.  Right: Obama: met the Dalai Lama at the White House map room instead of the Oval Office.