China calls Tibet leader Dalai Lama 'liar, separatist'

ANGERING THE DRAGON: China accuses the Dalai Lama of harming its ties with India.

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Beijing: China on Tuesday accused the Dalai Lama of seeking to undermine Beijing's relationship with Delhi through a visit to a disputed border region, insulating India's government from direct Chinese wrath over the dispute.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has riled Beijing by arranging a trip next week to Arunachal Pradesh, parts of which China claims as its own. The Chinese government has condemned the trip several times and asked Delhi to stop it going ahead.

But with ties between the two Asian giants strained by a flare-up of disputes over their shared boundary, Beijing apparently hopes to keep its ire over the trip, due to start November 8, from inflaming diplomatic tensions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu repeated earlier criticism of the Dalai Lama for "separatist" activities, but did not condemn Delhi for allowing the trip to go ahead, and underlined the importance Beijing places on Sino-Indian ties.

Blame for tensions, Ma said, rested with the Dalai Lama.

"The Dalai Lama often lies and often engages in acts to sabotage China's relations with other countries," Ma told a regular news briefing, when asked about the trip.

"I am confident that his scheme to wreck China's relations with the relevant country will come to nothing."

China claims about 90,000 sq km (55,900 square miles) of Arunachal Pradesh along the border as part of its territory, that it sees as "southern" Tibet.

Ma said that late last month, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh had agreed to focus on promoting "healthy and stable relations."

"We hope that each side will continue striving to make strides in that direction," Ma added.

But in a reminder of the many sources of friction between the two as they chase economic growth and jostle for influence in Asia, Ma also said China had asked India to ease visa red tape after new regulations upset Chinese firms.

Delhi recently cut back on business visas to curb a flow of unskilled labour, much of it Chinese.

Many Chinese workers had travelled to India on multiple entry business visas to fill jobs in sectors ranging from power generation to telecoms, the official China Daily said on Tuesday.

These visas will now be restricted to a smaller pool of senior executives, trade consultants and other specialists, affecting an estimated 25,000 Chinese workers, the paper added.

"China has expressed its concerns to India many times," Ma said, adding that Chinese businesses were involved in building projects in India that helped economic ties.

They tried their utmost to use local labour, but also needed to bring in technicians from China, he said.