China has summoned the US ambassador in protest against Thursday's meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Barack Obama.

The Tibetan spiritual leader was officially received at the White House by the US president. China is furious. It sees the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist seeking independence for Tibet.

Tension between the US and China was already high following a row with Google about Chinese censorship of the internet and a US weapons deal with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province.

There are fears that as a result China might refuse to support sanctions against Iran, to help break the impasse regarding the North Korean nuclear programme and to sign a new climate treaty.