Dalai Lama to Meet with Obama at the White House.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/16/AR2010021605919.html

With the Dalai Lama's visit to Washington fast-approaching, this article details the various implications a visit from the Tibetan leader could mean for United States diplomacy with China.

Last year, Obama shocked many by declining to host the Tibetan spiritual leader during one of his trips to Washington, D.C. Obama's refusal marked the first time since 1991 that a U.S. president had declined to meet with the Dalai Lama. Although this was surprising to many, the U.S. government explained that its decision to decline the invitation was based on the goal of maintaining good relations with the Chinese government. At the time, Washington was attempting to secure China's support in multiple issues, such as climate change and dealing with the global financial crisis, making maintaining diplomatic relations with the country increasingly important. This week's meeting follow's a decision to sell Taiwan, China's rival, $6.4 billion in weapons.

Personally, I found this article interesting because of the various diplomatic tactics used by the participating countries. The United States, arguably one of the most powerful countries in the world, refused a meeting with the Tibetan leader in hopes of maintaining a good relationship with China, another very powerful country. At the time, maintaining diplomatic relationships with China was crucial because the United States needed Chinese support on a number of issues. Now, the U.S. is meeting with Tibet once again, right after a decision to sell Taiwan, another Chinese nemesis, billions of dollars worth of weapons. My question is this: what does this mean for the relationship between China and the United States? It seems that the U.S. government only tiptoed around the Chinese government when something was needed of them. Now, it seems that sensitivity is not the case. So what will happen next? With much anticipation do I await the Chinese reaction to the situation. It will be interesting to see what kind of conflict will arise between these two superpowers, if any.

But what do you all think after reading the article? Are my questions valid or misled? Is conflict with China imminent?