Photo: Shan Jie/GT

China on Saturday lodged solemn representations with the US after President Joe Biden signed a Xizang-related bill into law on Friday local time, with multiple government authorities in China issuing statements firmly condemning the US.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the so-called “Tibet bill” violated the US government’s long-held position and commitments and the basic norms governing international relations, grossly interfered in China’s domestic affairs, undermined China’s interests, and sent a severely wrong signal to the “Xizang independence” forces. China firmly opposes it and has protested to the US side.

The Foreign Ministry reiterated that Xizang has been part of China since ancient times. Xizang affairs are China’s internal affairs which brook no interference by any external forces. Xizang today enjoys social stability and harmony, with sound economic performance and people’s well-being well protected. Xizang is making renewed progress in effectively developing its society, maintaining social stability, and achieving high-quality growth. No one and no force should ever attempt to destabilize Xizang to contain and suppress China, and such attempts will never succeed.

“We urge the US side to take concrete actions to honor its commitments of recognizing Xizang as part of China and not supporting ‘Xizang independence.’ The US must not implement the bill. If the US continues down the wrong path, China will take resolute measures to firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests,” a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

China's top legislature also firmly opposes and strongly condemns the passage and signing into law the Xizang-related bill by the US, according to a statement issued by the National People's Congress Foreign Affairs Committee on Saturday. The act grossly interferes in China's internal affairs and severely undermines China's interests, sending a seriously wrong signal to separatist forces seeking "Xizang independence," the statement said, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

At a symposium held Saturday, members of China's top political advisory body slammed the act as full of extremely erroneous views and provocative remarks, adding that it was blatant interference in China's internal affairs under the guise of "ethnicity," "religion" and "human rights," according to the Committee of Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee.

Meanwhile, the Xizang regional legislature and regional political advisory body both condemned US interference in China's internal affairs, noting that the bill blatantly tramples over international law and basic norms governing international relations, and arbitrarily smears and attacks China's Xizang policies.

According to related information, the US’ latest Xizang-related bill provides recognition to the so-called notion of "Greater Tibet” made up by the Dalai group, and asks the US government and the United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues to counter "disinformation about Xizang" from the Chinese government. 

Analysts said that the latest bill could be interpreted as a clear indication of the US' intention to increase its use of the “Xizang card” as a means to suppress China’s development, a move that is certain to have detrimental consequences on China-US relations.

The US' move to sign the bill into law is clearly aimed at creating chaos and challenges for China by playing the “Xizang card,” Jia Chunyang, a research professor from the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Saturday.

A bipartisan delegation of seven lawmakers led by Michael McCaul, a Republican representative from Texas, which also included former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, met with the 14th Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India in June, according to media reports.

During their stay, Pelosi reportedly claimed that the US Congress' approval of the so-called "Resolve Tibet Act" sent a message to China that "Washington was clear in its thinking" on Xizang region issues. 

The introduction of this bill could potentially mark a significant escalation in US’ Xizang policy, suggesting that Washington may increase its efforts to leverage Xizang affairs as a tool to undermine China, Jia said, noting that it is clear that the US has never abandoned its attempt of using Xizang-related issues to exert pressure on China.

The expert further stated that the latest bill signing into law would exacerbate tensions between China and the US regarding the Xizang-related issues in the foreseeable future, potentially escalating conflict and leading to more intense confrontations. The growing frictions between the two countries will become increasingly apparent, resulting in a more complex and confrontational China-US relations, Jia said.

To debunk the false claims made by the US regarding Xizang, analysts said that China should continue to make every effort to present the true history and current reality of Xizang, so that the international community can easily see through the misinformation spread by Washington.