China strongly opposes the United States allowing the Dalai Lama to visit the U.S. and its leaders' meeting with him, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan Wednesday.

Kong made the remark in reply to a reporter's question about the Dalai Lama's visit from Sept. 4 to 24, his meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and his possible meeting with President George W. Bush.

China has lodged representations with the U.S. on the visit and its leaders' meeting with him, calling for the US side to keep its promise that it acknowledges Tibet as part of China and does not support the "independence of Tibet," Kong said.

He said the Dalai Lama is not purely a religious figure, but a political figure in exile, who has engaged in China-separating andnational-unity-destroying activities for a long time.

The Chinese side urges the US side to stop using the Tibet issue to interfere with China's internal affairs so as not to harm China-US relations, the spokesman said.

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