US president to host Dalai Lama at White House

US President Barack Obama will meet exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the White House in a show of concern about China's human rights practices.

Obama's midmorning session with the Dalai Lama on Friday may well draw a reprimand from China, which views him as a violent separatist because he seeks more autonomy for Tibet.

China urged the US to scrap plans for the meeting, warning it would "seriously damage" ties between the two countries.

China describes the Dalai Lama as a separatist, while the spiritual leader says he only advocates greater autonomy for Tibet, not independence.

Officials say the US does not support Tibetan independence but is concerned about human rights in China.

The two men last met in 2011, in talks that angered China.

Tibet is governed as an autonomous region in China.

China has been widely accused of repressing political and religious freedoms in Tibet. Beijing rejects this and says economic development has improved Tibetans' lives.

"The United States' arrangement for its leader to meet the Dalai would be a gross interference in China's internal affairs and is a serious violation of the norms of international relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.

The meeting reflects US concerns about a wide range of Chinese activities from its human rights record to territorial tensions in the East China Sea.

Obama's strategic pivot, or rebalancing, towards Asia is seen as a reaction to the growing clout of China.

While the US recognises Tibet as part of China and does not support Tibetan independence, it supports the Dalai Lama's approach for more autonomy, said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

"We are concerned about continuing tensions and the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibetan areas of 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," Hayden said in a statement announcing the 1500 GMT meeting.

The US has also been concerned about a territorial dispute between China and Japan over a remote chain of islands in the East China Sea. Washington has vowed to ignore an air defense zone declared over the area by Beijing.

The White House is expected to issue a statement about the meeting after it takes place.