WASHINGTON, 19 Oct (AP) : The Dalai Lama met with a senior U.S.
diplomat, continuing a swing through Washington that China says has
undermined its relations with the United States.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte met with the exiled Tibetan
spiritual leader Friday to discuss the situation in Tibet and the
Dalai Lama's work on behalf of his followers, said Rob McInturff, a
State Department spokesman.

China is furious over the U.S. Congress' award to the Dalai Lama of
its highest civilian honor, personally bestowed by President George W.
Bush in a ceremony Wednesday.

China is demanding Washington stop supporting the Buddhist monk and
that it act to repair ties.

The Dalai Lama is considered a figure of moral authority in much of
the world, but China reviles him as a Tibetan separatist. The
72-year-old monk and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has reiterated in
Washington that he wants "real autonomy" for Tibet, not independence.