China has praised Austria's acknowledgement that meetings between Austrian leaders and the Dalai Lama led to a strain in relationships, indicating that a diplomatic tiff between the two has been resolved.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Austria also recognised Tibet as a part of China in a recent bilateral meeting. The statement, dated yesterday, was published on the Chinese Embassy website today.
China views the spiritual leader of Tibetans as a symbol of independence aspirations.
Two Austrian officials confirmed that issues from the Dalai Lama's visit last year were resolved in recent talks in Vienna, where Austria confirmed Tibet's status as part of China a stance shared with the US and other countries.
They demanded anonymity because they were not authorised to speak about the meeting.
