Washington, Sept 11: Amid protests from China, US President George W. Bush welcomed Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama to the White House and reiterated America's "strong commitment" to preserve Tibet's unique identity and protect the rights of the Tibetans. The Dalai Lama, after his second visit to the White House in as many years, told reporters that his meetings with Bush and the earlier one with Secretary of State Colin Powell had been "very useful".
Both the leaders had shown "their genuine interest and sympathy regarding our problem," he said.
President Bush declared his strong support for the Dalai Lama's commitment to the dialogue with China, said White House spokesman Scott McLellan. "The President said he would seek ways to encourage China to continue the dialogue on a substantive basis, and expressed his hope that the Chinese government would respond favourably," he said.
The Tibetan leader said that he was fully committed to the "middle-way approach" in his dialogue with China, "not seeking independence."
"My main concern is the preservation of Tibetan culture, Tibetan spirituality, because I believe the Tibetan Buddhist culture," he said. Bush also reiterated the strong US commitment to the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of the human rights of all Tibetans, McLellan said.
Earlier, China had accused the US of allowing the Dalai Lama to conduct "separatist activity on its soil". Bureau Report