China warns Sarkozy over Tibet ahead of summit

BEIJING (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy risks "hard-won" gains in ties with Beijing if he meets the Dalai Lama, a Chinese government spokesman warned on Friday, raising tensions a day before the two powers attend a financial summit.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said his government "resolutely opposes foreign leaders engaging in any form of contact" with Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama, whom it calls a "splittist" for advocating self-determination for his homeland.

Qin's warning was issued on the Foreign Ministry website (www.fmprc.gov.cn) a day after Sarkozy said he would meet the Dalai Lama in Poland in December.

Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend a summit on the global financial crisis in Washington on Saturday, and the French leader has looked to China to back his proposals to revamp global financial rules.

Spokesman Qin did not mention the summit, but suggested Sarkozy's proposed meeting with the Dalai Lama could damage broader relations for both France and the European Union.

"At present, China-French and China-Europe relations have been improving and developing, and this hard-won situation should be further cherished," Qin said.

He urged Sarkozy to "abide by ... promises and truly pay attention to China's major concerns."

The French president drew China's ire earlier in the year by suggesting that his attendance at the Beijing Olympic Games in August hinged on China's handling of Tibet, where violent unrest erupted in March.

Sarkozy later attended the Games, but in the months before France and French companies were the target of protests by Chinese people, bitter at his stance and at protests over Tibet that dogged the Olympic torch relay through Paris.

Critics have accused Sarkozy of caving in to pressure from China over the issue, and there were further question marks after an expected return trip by the Dalai Lama to France in December was canceled.

Sarkozy said on Thursday the two men would finally meet in Poland next month, when celebrations will be held for the 25th anniversary of the award of the Nobel Prize to former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in the mountainous region, occupied by Chinese troops from 1950.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Ken Wills and Paul Tait)