BEIJING, 4 November 1997 (AP) China today denounced the U.S. government's appointment of a policy adviser on Tibet, saying foreigners should not meddle in Chinese rule of the Himalayan region.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Tang Guoqiang said China has told Washington it "resolutely opposes" the new post of U.S. policy coordinator for Tibet.

"Tibet is an indivisible part of China, a fact acknowledged by the international community. Tibet's affairs are part of China's internal politics. No foreign country should nor has the right to meddle or interfere," Tang said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.

China's harsh suppression of Tibetan Buddhism and independence campaigners has become a contentious issue in Chinese-U.S. relations. Protesters, including celebrities like film star Richard Gere, dogged Chinese President Jiang Zemin on his nine-day visit to the United States, which ended today.

The Clinton administration, bowing to congressional pressure, agreed to create the policy coordinator's post. U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Friday picked Gregory Craig, head of the State Department's Office of Policy Planning.

Washington does not contest Chinese rule over Tibet but has advocated that Beijing open talks with the Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibet's theocratic state who fled into exile in 1959 amid a failed anti-Chinese uprising.