Will Obama roll out the red carpet this time for his fellow traveller?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has invited the Dalai Lama to the White House on Saturday, making time for the Tibetan spiritual leader who is in Washington for an 11-day Buddhist ritual.

The president last met with the Nobel Peace laureate in February 2010. The meeting infuriated Chinese officials. China accuses the Dalai Lama of trying to win Tibetan independence. The spiritual leader says he wants only autonomy.

Employing a low-key approach, the White House has set the meeting in the White House Map Room, not the Oval Office, which is reserved for visiting heads of state.

Update:

WASHINGTON/SHANGHAI (Reuters) — China urged the United States to cancel a scheduled meeting between President Barack Obama and exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the White House on Saturday, saying such a meeting would harm U.S.-China relations.

The White House announced on Friday that Obama would speak with the Dalai Lama about Tibet in their first meeting in more than a year. The announcement upset China, which was already on edge about the Dalai Lama’s meetings with U.S. congressional leaders and the potential for a U.S. debt default.

“This meeting underscores the president’s strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans,” the White House said in a statement.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement on the ministry’s website: “We firmly oppose any senior foreign government officials meeting with the Dalai Lama in any way.”

Hong said China called on the United States to “cancel the decision for Obama to meet the Dalai Lama as soon as possible, and not do anything that could interfere with China’s internal affairs or harm China-U.S. relations.”