Taking serious note of protests by Tibetans in India during the visit of President Hu Jintao, China on Thursday said Tibet was an "integral part" of its territory and the region's affairs were an "internal matter".
"The Tibetan Autonomous Region has been an integral part of Chinese territory since ancient times. Tibetan affairs are an internal affair of China," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said, when asked to comment on reports from Mumbai that an activist unfurled a Tibetan flag and then tried to immolate himself outside the hotel where Hu was staying.
"We oppose the act of any country to interfere with China's internal affairs under the pretext of the Tibet question," she said without naming any country.
"Tibet is part of China. This is a widely recognised consensus of the international community," she said, a day after criticising the Dalai Lama for organising anti-Hu protest rallies during the president's visit to India.
"This is a negative effort made by the Dalai Lama in an attempt to deceive international public opinion," Jiang had said on Tuesday while commenting on the anti-China rallies in India during Hu's maiden state visit from November 20-23.
On Tuesday Jiang noted that India has made an assurance to China that it will not allow Tibetans living in the country to engage in anti-China political activities from Indian soil.
"We attach importance and appreciate this statement by India and we also hope that India will honour its commitments on this issue," she said.
