Washington/Beijing, Feb 19 (IANS) President Barack Obama Thursday met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the White House, triggering an angry reaction from Beijing which accused the US of 'grossly interfering' in the country's internal affairs and 'damaging' Sino-US ties.

Brushing off Chinese warnings, Obama met the Dalai Lama to express his 'strong support' for human rights and religious freedom for the people of Tibet while encouraging a direct dialogue between the Tibetans and China.

'The president stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People's Republic of China,' White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said after the hour-long meeting Thursday.

Obama 'commended the Dalai Lama's 'Middle Way' approach, his commitment to non-violence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government,' Gibbs said after the meeting in the residential wing of the White House.

'The president stressed that he has consistently encouraged both sides to engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences and was pleased to hear about the recent resumption of talks.

'The president and the Dalai Lama agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship between the US and China,' Gibbs said.

A visibly pleased Dalai Lama, who lives in India, said he spoke to the president about the promotion of human values, religious harmony, a greater leadership role for women around the world and the concerns of the Tibetan people and added that Obama was 'very much supportive'.

'Since my childhood, I always admired America not as a military power, but mainly as a champion of democracy, freedom, human value, human creativity,' the Nobel laureate said.

The reverberations of the talks were felt in Beijing, where Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai summoned US ambassador Jon Huntsman and lodged 'solemn representations' over the meeting.

'The US act grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, gravely hurt the Chinese people's national sentiments and seriously damaged the Sino-US ties,' Xinhua quoted foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu as saying.

'Tibet is an inalienable part of the inviolable territory of China and the issues concerning Tibet are purely internal affairs of China,' Ma said.

China opposes leaders or government officials of any country meeting the Dalai Lama and any country or anyone using the Dalai Lama to interfere in its internal affairs, he added.

'The Dalai Lama's words and deeds have shown he is not a pure religious figure, but a political exile who has all along been engaged in separatist activities under the pretext of religion,' Ma said.

He said the Dalai Lama-Obama meeting 'grossly violated the basic norms governing international relations'.

'It also went against the repeated commitments by the US government that the US recognises Tibet as part of China and gives no support to 'Tibet independence',' he said.

In Washington, hundreds of Tibetans crowded Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House and waved Tibet's blue, red and yellow flags. They stood in a large circle singing and dancing, many in traditional garb as the Dalai Lama arrived for the much-awaited meeting.

Later at the State Department, the Dalai Lama chided China for what he called its 'childish' and 'limited' approach to Tibet. He said he expected a negative Chinese reaction to his meeting with Obama.

Obama, who failed to meet the Dalai Lama last year to keep Beijing in good humour ahead of his visit to China, did not receive the Dalai Lama at his Oval Office Thursday to indicate the unofficial nature of the meeting.

Dalai Lama has met every US president since George H.W. Bush in 1991.

After the meeting, the Dalai Lama, wearing maroon robes of a Tibetan monk and flip-flops in snowy, cold Washington, playfully tossed a bit of snow at reporters staking out on the White House grounds and declared himself 'very happy' with the visit.

The Dalai Lama and many of his supporters fled Tibet and took refuge in India in 1959. He has spent the last two decades campaigning for autonomy for his homeland.