''I don't see any reason why any country would protest a meeting,'' State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns told a Foreign Press Center briefing. Clinton simply ''dropped by'' a meeting held Thursday between Vice President Al Gore and the Dalai Lama, Burns said, pointing out that Clinton had done the same during two previous visits.

The meeting was ''certainly appropriate,'' Burns stressed, noting that the winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize ''is a highly respected individual here in the United States and around the world.''

''It is certainly consistent with our point of view that the Dalai Lama deserves to be received very courteously when he visits Washington,'' the spokesman said.

''So we fully stand by this meeting and don't understand why any country would protest it in any way.''

Echoing Clinton's meetings with the Dalai Lama in 1993 and 1994, China lodged protests earlier Thursday both in Washington and Beijing, criticizing the U.S. for interfering in China's internal affairs.

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of invoking anti-China activities in its autonomous region of Tibet. Chinese communist troops took over Tibet in the 1950s.

The Dalai Lama lives in exile in India, and continues to call for Tibetan autonomy and religious freedom for Tibetans.

At Wednesday's meeting, the White House said Clinton conveyed his respects to the Dalai Lama and expressed his concern for the preservation of Tibetan religion and culture.

The president also vowed that the U.S. will continue to call for high-level talks between China and the Dalai Lama, the White House said.

Meanwhile, Burns brushed off suggestions of any adverse effects on U.S.-China ties, which have been improving recently.

''We turned an important corner in the U.S.-China relationship.regained some stability and predictability,'' he said, referring to the period since Secretary of State Warren Christopher se Foreign Minister Qian Qichen met in 20 early August in Brunei.

The two sides agreed to continue dialogue to bridge gaps that surfaced since Washington allowed Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui's visit to the U.S. in June.

Christopher and Qian are slated to meet again later this month in New York when the U.N. General Assembly opens an annual session.