BEIJING, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- China blasted President George Bush for meeting the Dalai Lama ahead of his trip to Beijing, and called a U.S. report on China's religious freedom groundless.
"The Dalai Lama is not a simple or a pure religious figure. He is a political exile who undertakes secessionist activities abroad," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said, Xinhua reported Friday. "We oppose meetings between him and other leaders."
Bush met the exiled Tibetan leader Wednesday at the White House. Earlier this week he promised to raise the issue of religious persecution with Chinese President Hu Jintao, The Washington Times reported.
The annual State Department report on religious freedom, submitted to Congress Tuesday, named China as a serious violator of religious freedom along with Myanmar, North Korea, Vietnam, Iran, Sudan, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia.
Liu said the report, which accused China of limiting religious practice to state-sanctioned groups, made groundless accusations.
Bush is scheduled to visit Beijing from Nov. 19 to 21. He is expected to discuss with Hu the nearly $200 billion U.S. trade deficit with China, as well as plans for fighting bird flu and handling North Korea's nuclear programs.
In a weeklong trip beginning Monday, Bush will visit Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia.
