Beijing, Nov 12: US president Barack Obama should be especially sympathetic to China's opposition to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Independence, a Chinese government spokesman said on Thursday, Nov 12.

Addressing a news conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said, "He is a black president, and he understands the slavery abolition movement and Lincoln's major significance for that movement."

He said, "Lincoln played an incomparable role in protecting the national unity and territorial integrity of the United States."

"Thus on this issue we hope that President Obama, more than any other foreign leader, can better, more deeply grasp China's stance on protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity," said Qin.

Qin made the comments, four days before Obama's visit to China for a summit that will cover the two big powers' vast and sometimes tense economic, diplomatic and security ties.

Earlier, Obama did not meet Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, when he was in Washington in Oct 2009.

But Dalai Lama had said they may meet after Obama's visit to China, which condemns the Buddhist monk as a separatist for demanding Tibetan self-determination.

OneIndia News