Obama To Meet Dalai Lama At White House.

Barack Obama is hosting the Dalai Lama at the White House despite a warning from China that the meeting would "seriously damage" ties between the two countries.

The US president will greet the Tibetan spiritual leader and fellow Nobel laureate in a show of concern about China's human rights practices.

The White House is trying to keep the talks low profile; the meeting was not announced until late on Thursday and is going to be private.

It will be held in the Map Room rather than the Oval Office, where the president traditionally brings a visiting leader for a round of photographs.

The Dalai Lama is in the US on a speaking tour

Despite this, Beijing urged Obama to cancel the meeting, accusing the president of letting the Dalai Lama use the White House as a podium to promote anti-Chinese activities.

"The US leader's planned meeting with Dalai is a gross interference in China's domestic politics," said a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. "It is a severe violation of the principles of international relations. It will seriously damage the China-US relationship."

Beijing routinely protests when world leaders grant an audience to the Dalai Lama, including when Mr Obama met with him in 2010 and again in 2011.

Chinese officials denounce the Dalai Lama as a separatist responsible for instigating self-immolations by Tibetans inside China.

The Dalai Lama, who is widely respected around the world for his advocacy of peace and tolerance, maintains he only wants genuine autonomy for Tibet.

The US had no immediate response to the rebuke from China.

But the White House stressed Obama was meeting the Dalai Lama in his capacity as a cultural and religious leader.

Officials reiterated that the US recognises Tibet as part of China and does not support Tibetan independence.