By China correspondent Stephen McDonell
ABC Online, Australia
September 25, 2007

China says its relations with Germany have been seriously undermined by
a historic meeting between the German Chancellor and the Dalai Lama.

The Chinese Government had warned German Chancellor Angela Merkel not to
meet the Dalai Lama.

But on Sunday, the German leader defied these warnings and became the
first German Chancellor to meet the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

Chinese Government Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu says ties
between the two countries have been damaged.

"This not only grossly interferes with the internal affairs of China, it
hurts the feelings of the Chinese people," she said.

The Chinese Government has also called on the Government in Berlin to
fix the problem.

But in an apparent response, China has already cancelled tow top-level
meetings between Chinese and German officials.