Don't support Tibetan independence: China to US

Beijing: China on Thursday urged the US to honour its commitment to recognise Tibet as part of China and not to support Tibetan independence.

The US State Department said in a statement on Wednesday that it supports the aspirations of Tibetans to preserve their culture and called on China to return to dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

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Reacting to the US statement, China's Foreign Ministry said that all Tibet-related issues are China's "internal affairs". China calls Tibet as Xizang.

"Xizang-related affairs are purely China's internal affairs and no country has the right to make interference," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here while responding to a question on the US statement on Thursday.

"We urge the US to honour its commitment that it recognises Xizang is part of China and does not support "Tibet independence," and stop using Xizang-related issues to interfere in China's internal affairs," she added.

She, however, did not react to the US call to hold talks with the Tibetan spiritual leader, who turned 91 on July 6.

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The Dalai Lama was born on July 6, 1935, to a Tibetan farming family in the small village of Taktser, located in Amdo in Tibet.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, who has lived in Dharamsala (India) in exile since he left Tibet in 1959, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.