China condemned the United States today for awarding the Dalai Lama one of its highest honours and summoned the US ambassador in Beijing to complain.
The Dalai Lama received the US Congressional Gold Medal from President George Bush yesterday.
He has lived in exile in India since fleeing his predominantly Buddhist homeland in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule,
China, which considers the Dalai Lama a separatist, had denounced the award as a "farce" that would hurt relations between Beijing and Washington.
"The move of the United States is a blatant interference in China's internal affairs, hurts the feelings of the Chinese people and has gravely undermined relations between China and the United States," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
"We urge the United States to take concrete steps to remove the terrible impact of its erroneous actions."
The spokesman said that before the Communists took control of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was responsible for a "dark and cruel" system of serfdom.