"I wanted to express my appreciation to President Bush since he really took seriously the situation" in Tibet, aides quoted the Dalai Lama as saying after the talks. "We have developed a close friendship."

China, which views the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist bent on Tibetan independence, had denounced the events and urged Washington to cancel, while warning that going ahead could damage Sino-US ties.

The 1989 Nobel Peace laureate met with Bush for 30 minutes in the so-called "Yellow Oval" room of the presidential residence, then slipped away unheralded as Washington sought to dampen the diplomatic fallout from the visit.

The meeting -- their fourth -- came one day before Bush was to speak at a Capitol Hill ceremony to give Tibet's spiritual leader the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed by US lawmakers.

It will be the first time a sitting US president appears in public with the 72-year-old Buddhist figurehead, amid sharp objections from China, which has objected to what it sees as a "severe violation" of Sino-US relations.

Bush will also hand the award to the Dalai Lama, according to Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"We in no way want to stir the pot and make China feel that we are poking a stick in their eye," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "We do not support a separate country from China."

Mindful of Beijing's role in efforts to defuse the Iranian and North Korean nuclear crises, the White House appeared to placate China by toning down the symbolic overtones of Tuesday's meeting -- declining to specify a time, or release a photograph, or say specifically what had been discussed.

"For the US Congress to take this action and the US leader to meet with the Dalai Lama is a severe violation of the norms of international relations," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said earlier in Beijing.

"We express our extreme dissatisfaction and strong opposition. We urge the US side to cancel these activities," he said, accusing the United States of having "severely hurt" China's feelings and interfered in its internal affairs.

The Dalai Lama "should be honored as a spiritual leader," said Perino, who likened the meeting to Bush's visits with the Pope and said the president's goal was highlighting his belief in religious freedom.

The Dalai Lama arrived in Washington Monday and was greeted by a crowd of Tibetans clad in traditional dress, honoring the spiritual icon with blessings, songs and dances.

He fled to India following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, and currently lives in the northern hill town of Dharamsala, which is also the seat of his government in exile.

He says he only wants greater autonomy for his six million people, not independence for Tibet.

China has ruled Tibet, a devoutly Buddhist land, since sending troops into the region in 1950, and officially "liberating" it from feudal role a year later.

China showed its displeasure by putting off a Berlin meeting of the UN Security Council's five permanent members and Germany on the Iranian nuclear crisis, a US State Department official said.

"I think they (the Chinese) had indigestion ... over the presence of certain spiritual leaders and an event in Congress," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It is extraneous to Iranian issues."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao sidestepped questions over why Beijing had postponed Wednesday's meeting in Berlin to next week.

"Due to technical reasons, China will not attend the meeting on the Iranian nuclear issue ... but China's stance on Iran's nuclear problem remains unchanged," he said.

However, Liu added that a meeting between Bush and the Dalai Lama "will seriously undermine China-US relations."

While China's fury is now directed at the United States, it has also lashed out at Germany, Australia and other Western countries in recent months after their leaders met the Dalai Lama.

China is also still furious over German Chancellor Angela Merkel's historic meeting with the Dalai Lama last month in Berlin.

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