China has warned US presidential candidate John McCain on Monday to stop “supporting and conniving with” the Dalai Lama saying Americans should realize that the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader can prove to be a threat to Sino-US relations.

The call came after the 45 minute meeting between McCain and the Dalai Lama, on Friday, in Colorado. McCain also praised Dalai Lama calling him a “transcendent international role model and hero”.

“We urge relevant Americans to conform to the basic standard of international relations and realize the fact that the Dalai is trying to split China and undermine the social order of Tibet and the ethnic unity under the cover of religion,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.

McCain has criticized China on the human rights issue in Tibet which came to international forefront in March during a crackdown on protests against Chinese rule that began in the region’s capital, Lhasa.

Dalai Lama appreciated McCain’s concern but also emphasized that he was not in any way endorsing McCain’s presidential bid. The Dalai Lama was in Aspen for a symposium on Tibet at The Aspen Institute.