Beijing has warned it will almost certainly cut off the fledgling Sino-US human rights dialogue if Washington goes ahead with a revived resolution condemning China at a UN conference.
No sooner had Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh made public his request to meet the Dalai Lama's choice of the Panchen Lama in China, than Chinese officials bluntly ruled it out.
Although the two days of discussions at the State Department took place in an atmosphere of goodwill, Beijing's officials in Washington were offended by critical remarks made by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at a reception marking 20 years of Sino-US diplomatic relations.
Assistant Foreign Minister Wang Guangya, who headed the Chinese delegation, said it would be impossible to continue human rights dialogue with nations who sponsored an anti-China resolution at the forthcoming United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. 'If any member wishes to do it again, it would not be successful and would fail again,' Mr Wang said.
'Now we are on the road of dialogue and co-operation, therefore, let us stick to that course.' On the Panchen Lama, Mr Wang made it clear that if the United States insisted on a meeting with the disputed Tibetan leader it could cause a diplomatic showdown.
He cited the safety and privacy of the boy's family, who are being held in an unknown location, as the rationale for Beijing's continued reluctance to let outsiders visit them.