Ignore China

China has warned President Barack Obama not to meet with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.

The president expects to do so anyway, sometime this month.

That will be one more sore point between the United States and China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of pushing for Tibetan independence.

The Dalai Lama's official position is that he seeks "real autonomy" for Tibet. A White House spokesman said Tuesday: "To be clear, the U.S. considers Tibet to be a part of China. We have human rights concerns about the treatment of Tibetans. We urge the government of China to protect the unique cultural and religious traditions of Tibet."

China is already upset with President Obama due to the administration's recent announcement of a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, the autonomous island which Beijing regards as part of China.

President George W. Bush met in 2007 with the Dalai Lama, who was honored by Congress with its highest civilian honor. President Bill Clinton greeted the spiritual leader informally at the White House a decade earlier. Each time, China had something to say about the meetings. Last October, President Obama decided not to meet with the Dalai Lama before a November summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

There is no reason the president should avoid seeing his fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner this month. An American president should never let any foreign leader tell him whom he shall or shall not meet.