China's authoritative oficial news agency Xinhua reported on October 21, 2017, that at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing 19th Party Congress on October 21, the Vice Minister of the CCP CC's United Front Work Department and its Executive Deputy Head Zhang Yijiong had reaffirmed China's opposition to the Dalai Lama's visits to foreign countries. Zhang Yijiong urged foreign governments to exercise "caution in both words and deeds" saying that "The 14th Dalai Lama is not only a religious figure, but also a political one." He asserted that“After fleeing China in 1959, he established a so-called government-in-exile, whose goal and core agenda is the independence of Tibet and to separate (from) China. For decades, the group headed by the 14th Dalai Lama has never stopped such attempts. As head of the group, the 14th Dalai Lama has never stopped his activities in this regard over the past decades," Zhang Yijiong said and added "No country in the world recognizes the so-called 'Tibetan government-in-exile,'" he said, noting that although individual officials in some countries had received the Dalai Lama, their countries do not recognize the group. He said foreign officials also can’t get away by saying they were meeting the exiled Tibetan leader in a personal capacity as they still represent their governments.He added “Any country, or any organisation of anyone, accepting to meet with the Dalai Lama, in our view, is a major offence to the sentiment of the Chinese people.” He warned that "The Chinese government opposes governments and organizations in any country in the world to receive the Dalai Lama in any name. We consider such visit as a severe insult to the feelings of the Chinese people and a deviation from their commitment to recognizing the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China. So we hope governments around the world exercise caution in both words and deeds and give full consideration to their friendship with China and their respect for China's sovereignty." Zhang Yijiong also said there has been a decreasing number of countries receiving the Dalai Lama in their official capacity in recent years and the Dalai Lama could only manage to give lectures in universities or hold religious activities instead. Zhang Yijiong, who worked in Tibet from 2006-2010 as a deputy Communist Party boss, said that Tibetan Buddhism was a special religion “born in our ancient China”. “It’s a Chinese religion. It didn’t come in from the outside.”

(Comment: 1955-born Zhang Yijiong has served in the Tibet Autonomous Region from 2006-2010 and also spent time in Qinghai before moving to the UFWD as its Executive Deputy Head. In view of his age he is very unlikely he would be elevated at the ongoing 19th Party Congress).