Spokesman Sun Yuxi said Tibet was an inalienable part of Chinese territory and that Tibetan issues were purely internal affairs which no other country had the right to interfere with.

"The Chinese side is staunchly opposed to the establishment and appointment of a coordinator for Tibetan affairs," Sun said at a bi-weekly news briefing.

Sun was asked to comment on the appointment of US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Julia Taft as special coordinator for Tibetan issues.

The US State Department announced Wednesday the appointment of Taft to replace Greg Craig, who left the job last year to be special impeachement adviser to US President Bill Clinton.

The key aim of the Tibet coordinator's position is promoting dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama -- Tibet's exiled spiritual leader -- and his followers.

The Clinton administration created the position of Tibet coordinator in 1997 in an effort to assuage congressional concern about China's heavy-handed treatment of the remote Himalayan territory.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 with his supporters after a failed uprising against the Chinese regime. He heads a government in exile in Dharamsala, India, where some 100,000 Tibetans live as refugees.

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Last updated: 26-Jan-99