China expressed anger Thursday over a resolution passed by the US Congress that condemned Beijing's handling of the Tibet issue, saying that its policy in the region was supported by Tibetans.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the National Peoples' Congress (NPC) Foreign Affairs Committee called the US resolution "a gross interference in China's domestic affairs," state news agency Xinhua reported.

The US Congress nearly unanimously passed the resolution Wednesday that urged China to "cease its repression of the Tibetan people, and to lift immediately the harsh policies imposed on Tibetans."

The resolution came amid a Chinese security crackdown in the Himalayan region during the 50 year anniversary of a failed uprising in Tibet that forced the Dalai Lama into exile.

According to Xinhua, the NPC said that the US resolution "distorts the facts of Tibet's democratic reform and glorifies the Dalai Lama, slandering the religious policy of the Chinese government."

In the statement, the NPC said that "all sorts of rights enjoyed by the Tibetan people have been ensured by the Chinese laws," according to Xinhua.

"China's Tibet policy won heartfelt support from people of all nationalities, including the Tibetan ethnic group," said the statement.

"Facts demonstrate that our disputes with the Dalai Lama's supporters is neither the nationals issue, nor religious issue, or human rights, or autonomy for Tibet, but a principled campaign concerning unification or separation, moving forward or backward," it said.

"Tibet is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory and Tibetan affairs are purely China's domestic affairs," the report said.

Earlier, foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in comments to journalists that the US resolution "disregards the facts (and) makes groundless accusations against China's ethnic and religious policy."

The House of Representatives voted 422 to 1 to approve the resolution. Nine House members did not vote.

The resolution, which does not threaten action if Beijing fails to comply, came amid heightened tensions between China and the United States after navy vessels from the two countries clashed in the South China Sea.

In a bid to ease the simmering spat, Obama invited visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to the White House on Thursday -- ignoring protocol, which normally sees diplomatic meetings take place between representatives of similar rank.

US House offers strong backing to Tibet
Washington (AFP) March 12 - The US Congress nearly unanimously urged China to end "repression" in Tibet, ignoring Beijing's warnings just as its foreign minister prepared to meet President Barack Obama.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 422 to 1 to approve the resolution, which marks 50 years since a failed uprising in Tibet that forced the Dalai Lama into exile. Nine House members did not vote.

The resolution urges China to "cease its repression of the Tibetan people, and to lift immediately the harsh policies imposed on Tibetans."

The resolution, which does not threaten action if Beijing fails to comply, came amid heightened tensions between China and the United States after navy vessels from the two countries clashed in the South China Sea.

In a bid to ease the simmering spat, Obama invited visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to the White House on Thursday -- ignoring protocol, which normally sees diplomatic meetings take place between representatives of similar rank.

The Congressional resolution also called on China to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader and to "find a lasting solution to the Tibetan issue," and saluted India for hosting tens of thousands of Tibetan refugees.

China had warned that US criticism on Tibet would harm ties between the two countries.

The White House and State Department earlier voiced concern about human rights in Tibet and urged dialogue with the Dalai Lama, although their statements were briefer and more mildly phrased.

China's foreign ministry had urged the US Congress to drop the Tibet bill, saying the measure proposed by "a few anti-China representatives disregards the history and reality of Tibet."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meeting Wednesday with Yang, said that the Obama administration was "absolutely committed" to defending human rights. She had come under fire from rights groups for not speaking out more loudly on China.

Yang reaffirmed to Clinton Beijing's position on Tibet and expressed anger over the resolution in Congress, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

"The Tibet issue is purely China's domestic issue," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told Xinhua. "The Chinese government and people, as always, oppose any country or anyone to interfere in China's internal affairs on the pretext of the Tibet issue."

Since 1959 Tibet has undergone profound changes "and millions of serfs have become owner of Tibet," Ma said.

Republican Congressman Frank Wolf, a resolution sponsor, had a different view.

"I hope the foreign minister who's in town today hears it -- it is cultural genocide, systematically destroying the framework of Tibetan society," said Wolf, who sneaked undercover into Tibet in 1997 and said he heard accounts of torture by monks and nuns for expressing support for the Dalai Lama.

During last year's anniversary of the 1959 uprising, China broke up another round of protests. Rights groups say more than 200 people died and 1,200 remain unaccounted for a year later.

"Where are they? Let's ask the foreign minister when he goes to the State Department -- where are they?" Wolf said angrily.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime Tibet supporter, took to the floor of the chamber to seek support for the resolution.

"I so had wished decades ago that we wouldn't be standing here now still pleading the case for the people of Tibet," Pelosi said.

"It is long past time -- 50 years -- for Beijing to respect the human rights of every Tibetan and indeed every Chinese," she said.

Another resolution sponsor, Democrat Howard Berman, said that "our friends in China" should consider the resolution not as an attack but as a call to re-engage with the Dalai Lama.

"This resolution is not anti-Chinese. We have deep, deep respect for both peoples" of China and Tibet, Berman said.

"But after eight rounds of fruitless meetings between the Chinese government and the representatives of the Dalai Lama, it appears to many of us that China is not serious about achieving a resolution of this difficult issue," he said.

The sole 'no' vote on the resolution came from Ron Paul, a maverick Texas libertarian who unsuccessfully sought the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

"I don't think the United States would like it too much if China postured in a similar way on our affairs, and there is really no benefit to these types of actions for us," said Paul spokeswoman Rachel Mills.