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WASHINGTON: The Dalai Lama's office has confirmed that he will be visiting Washington on February 17 and 18.
The exiled Tibetan leader is expected to meet US President Barack Obama. However, Beijing has warned President Obama that meeting with the Dalai Lama will damage trust and cooperation.
But when President Obama visited China last year, he had told Chinese President Hu Jintao that he would meet with the Dalai Lama.
Drew Thompson, China Director, The Nixon Center, said: "As far as Beijing is concerned, there is never a good time. But, I think, immediately on the heels of this notification to Congress of arms sales to Taiwan, it is probably going to be a bit too much for China to bear."
Last Friday, the US approved a 6.4-billion-dollar arms sale deal to Taiwan. In response, China has cut off military-to-military cooperation, saying it will sanction US companies involved.
Dr Kenneth Liberthal, Brookings Institute, said: "The US-China relationship is so wide-ranging at this point and so deep, that there is never a good time to do something this controversial.
"It is always cheek-by-jowl with something that is important that is also coming up very soon. So you literally cannot find a month in the year that would be a convenient month to see the Dalai Lama."
The visit comes ahead of an as yet unscheduled trip to Washington this year by President Hu.
The US State Department is urging everyone to consider the long view. PJ Crowley, US State Department Spokesman said: "A lot depends on your perspective. Are there a lot of balls in the air today that perhaps were not there four to six months ago? Fair enough.
"On the other hand if you step back twenty years or so, our relationship is remarkably stable."
Meanwhile, President Obama said he will be monitoring foreign currencies to ensure that the US is not put at an unfair competitive disadvantage. He said the US will put "constant pressure" on China and other nations to open their markets, but added that it would be a mistake to "close ourselves off".
Dr Liberthal said: "It will be very important for the relationship to figure out ways to have these tough decisions made, that we will make and the Chinese will make theirs, and still be able to move forward on a basically cooperative way on the big issues.
"So, I think, this year and next year will be very important for determining whether we can do that."
The US is also urging China to support efforts to pressure Iran into cooperating with the international community over its nuclear technology.
But despite the diplomatic ramifications of this trip to Washington by the Dalai Lama and other contentious issues, the Obama administration maintains that its key priority is nurturing the strength and stability of its relationship with China.
- CNA/sc
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