Muted Fireworks From China on Dalai Lama Visit

Source: WSJ

Diplomatic observers were braced for a withering blast of criticism from the Chinese government after U.S. President Barack Obama’s meeting with Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader that Beijing accuses of seeking independence for his Himalayan homeland. But China’s response, in officials’ public statements and the media, turned out to be less strident than some had expected.

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The U.S. ambassador, Jon Huntsman, was called into China’s Foreign Ministry Friday, and China’s vice foreign minister made what the official Xinhua news agency characterized as “solemn representations” regarding the Dalai Lama’s visit to the White House Thursday. Earlier, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu issued a statement saying that the meeting “grossly violated the norms governing international relations.”

All pretty standard stuff.

There was also the usual talk of “hurt feelings,” though with a notable translation adjustment. While in the past a foreign leader’s meeting with the Dalai Lama –like myriad other events that offend China– has been said to “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” this time Xinhua’s English service reported that the meeting had “gravely hurt the Chinese people’s national sentiments.” The Chinese is the same (伤害中国人民的民族感情, here), but the new English wording offers a more sophisticated (and accurate) rendering of the original, and perhaps will mark an end to the mockery that the previous translation sometimes provoked.

Ambassadors are routinely summoned by Beijing after a high-profile meeting with the Dalai Lama. The French ambassador was called in for a sharp rebuke after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with the Tibetan in late 2008. (see a slideshow of the Dalai Lama’s visits with other foreign leaders)

“I don’t think the reaction was unexpected,” said the U.S. embassy spokeswoman, Susan Stevenson. She said Huntsman told Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, “Now is the time to move forward and cooperate in ways that benefit our two countries, the region and the world.”

Obama discussed his plans to meet with the Dalai Lama when he visited Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing late last year. Obama and the Dalai Lama met in the White House Map Room, rather than the Oval Office, seen as an effort by the U.S. to give the visit a lower profile. Ties between Beijing and Washington have been especially strained lately, with China threatening to retaliate against the U.S. for arms sales to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

Friction over trade and foreign-exchange rates has also hurt relations. But the relatively muted rhetoric surrounding the Dalai Lama’s visit may indicate an effort by both sides to prevent the irritation from snowballing.

Ji Zhu, director of the World Economic Research Center at the Beijing Technology and Business University, said he doesn’t expect the Dalai Lama meeting to have much impact. “Compared to the arms sales to Taiwan, which is regarded as a real action against China’s core interests, meeting with the Dalai Lama can be just regarded as a small episode,” Ji said.

– Gordon Fairclough, with contributions from Sky Canaves and Sue Feng