China doesn't believe President Obama should meet with the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, nor do they believe he has the right to, the Los Angeles Times reported. The president is scheduled to meet with the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism today (Friday). By all accounts, he plans on keeping it.

The Dalai Lama and representatives of Obama insist their talk won't be about Tibetan independence, but "human rights and religious freedom in China," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement, the LA Times reported. Gyatso, who lives in India, summarized his goals for Tibet as "meaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people that would ensure the long-term survival of our Buddhist culture, our language and our distinct identity."

"The United States recognizes Tibet to be a part of the People's Republic of China and we do not support Tibetan independence," Hayden said.

Hayden is referring to China's control of Tibet, which they invaded in 1950 and have governed since. Tibetans have long protested (in sometimes violent and dramatic ways, such as monks lighting themselves on fire) what they view as the destruction of their culture, but what the Chinese government sees as development. They don't allow visitors into the region, according to the LA Times.

"What should be developed should be developed, and when stability should be maintained, it will be maintained," Zhu Weiqun, a top political advisor to China's central government, wrote in an essay on China's government website.

"By arranging a meeting between the President and the Dalai Lama, the U.S. side will grossly interfere in the internal affairs of China, seriously violate norms governing international relations and severely impair China-U.S. relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement, CNN reported.

The Chinese government consider the Dalai Lama as a separatist responsible for tricking his fellow monks into lighting themselves on fire. Obviously, the United States does not view him in that light.

"The United States supports the Dalai Lama's 'middle way' approach of neither assimilation nor independence for Tibetans in China," Hayden said. "We will continue to urge the Chinese government to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, as a means to reduce tensions."