Beijing's tough rhetoric piled pressure on a crucial relationship already severely strained over Google's threat to halt operations in China, which sparked a row over Internet freedom, and a host of trade and currency disputes.

China and the United States are working together on several pressing international disputes, including fraught negotiations aiming to curb the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran.

But Beijing hinted Tuesday that it may no longer be willing to play by US rules on such key foreign policy issues, and blamed Washington for any negative consequences.

"China-US relations, in important international and regional issues, will inevitably be influenced (by the Taiwan deal) and the responsibility completely lies with the United States," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

Ma also called on US companies selling arms to Taiwan -- corporate giants like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon -- to back away from the arms deal, after earlier warning that Beijing could impose sanctions.

US Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force Bruce Lemkin offered Washington's first reaction, calling the Chinese broadside "unfortunate."

"This is a policy decision based on principle, and based on our commitment in the Taiwan Relations Act," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.

The Obama administration backs a one-China policy but is also bound by law to provide self-ruled Taiwan with weapons for defensive purposes, and backs dialogue between the Dalai Lama's envoys and Beijing.

China is now the largest holder of US government debt, and some analysts have suggested that its economic clout has emboldened leaders of the world's most populous nation to take on Washington in a more forceful way.

"They think the balance of power has tipped in their favour... and that they can push their advantage a bit farther," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a professor of political science at Hong Kong Baptist University.

The sanctions threat was indeed a new step by Beijing, which has always strongly opposed US arms sales to Taiwan and also cut off military and security contacts with Washington in retaliation for the deal.

Washington last week approved a package of Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and other military hardware totalling 6.4 billion dollars for Taiwan, which China views as part of its territory awaiting reunification.

On Tibet, Beijing reiterated its long-standing opposition to any meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama, who is accused by China of fomenting separatist dissent in his Himalayan homeland.

Such a meeting would "seriously undermine the political foundation of Sino-US relations," Zhu Weiqun, executive vice minister of the Communist Party body that handles contact with the Dalai Lama, told a news conference.

"If the US leader chooses to meet with the Dalai Lama at this time, it will certainly threaten trust and cooperation between China and the United States," Zhu said.

"We oppose any attempt by foreign forces to interfere in China's internal affairs using the Dalai Lama as an excuse," he added.

Zhu's comments followed another round of talks between Chinese officials and envoys of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader -- the ninth since 2002 and the first in more than a year -- which Beijing said had yielded no progress.

The Dalai Lama is due to visit Washington later this month on a trip to the United States but no meeting with the US president has been announced.

Obama avoided a meeting with the Buddhist monk in the run-up to his maiden visit to China in November, presumably so as not to offend Beijing, but a top aide said the Nobel Peace Prize winners would meet at an "appropriate time".

A spokesman for Tibet's government-in-exile, Thubten Samphel, said "the role of the United States is to facilitate a just and honest dialogue between the Dalai Lama's envoys and the government of China."

Washington needs China's support for any new UN sanctions against Iran, which the West fears is secretly developing fissile material for atomic weapons under the cover of its uranium enrichment programme -- a charge Tehran denies.

China on Tuesday reiterated that diplomacy was the way forward on the Iran standoff, batting back US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's calls for Beijing to join international calls for sanctions.

"China always believes that dialogue and negotiations are the best way to resolve this issue," said the foreign ministry spokesman.

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