China on Tuesday rebuked Washington over comments made by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio marking the 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, telling the United States it is “in no position” to lecture Beijing on Tibet-related issues. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Xizang affairs are “purely China’s internal affairs” and urged the U.S. to recognise the “sensitivity” of the matter and stop sending “wrong signals” to what Beijing calls separatist forces. Mao described the Dalai Lama as a political exile engaged in anti-China activities “under the cloak of religion” and reiterated that the spiritual leader has “no right” to represent Tibetans or decide the region’s future. She demanded that Washington honour past commitments on Tibet and cease interference, underscoring that the question of succession to the Dalai Lama is also an internal Chinese issue. Rubio had praised the Tibetan spiritual leader for inspiring “unity, peace and compassion” and reaffirmed U.S. support for Tibetans’ ability to choose and venerate their religious leaders without outside interference. His statement intensified an already fraught U.S.–China relationship, which is also strained by trade disputes and broader strategic rivalry. The diplomatic clash comes days after the Dalai Lama, celebrating his milestone birthday in Dharamsala, India, declared that the Gaden Phodrang Trust he founded will be the sole authority to identify his reincarnation—a stance that conflicts with Beijing’s 2007 regulation asserting China’s right to approve all Buddhist reincarnations within its borders.