Despite careful US arrangements to keep his visit off-camera, the Dalai Lama walked out of the White House residence and straight to a large group of waiting reporters, telling them he was "very happy" with the 45-minute meeting.

"The president was... supportive," the Dalai Lama said outside the West Wing of the White House.

The bare-armed 74-year-old monk playfully tossed snow at reporters and drew a circle with two lines in the snow outside of the White House press briefing room -- a symbol that may have been a reference to the Tibetan flag.

Such unscripted movements are unusual for VIPs at the White House, but preparations for the Dalai Lama were anything but ordinary.

Hoping to limit Chinese protests, Obama received his fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate in the White House's Map Room -- not the Oval Office, the seat of presidential power -- and allowed no cameras inside.

But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs later said that Obama had voiced support for the Dalai Lama and his "middle way" approach of using nonviolence to pursue greater rights for Tibet underneath Chinese rule.

"The president stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People's Republic of China," Gibbs said.

"The president commended the Dalai Lama's 'middle way' approach, his commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government," Gibbs said.

The Dalai Lama later met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and addressed reporters outside of his hotel, where hundreds of flag-waving Tibetans chanted, "Long live the Dalai Lama!" and "Thank you, President Obama!"

China fiercely opposes any foreign contact with the Buddhist leader, who fled for India in 1959 amid a failed uprising and has since built an enthusiastic global following for his spiritual teachings.

Beijing issued a statement after the meeting saying that the United States had contradicted its position of recognizing Tibet as part of the country.

The meeting with the Dalai Lama "grossly violated the norms governing international relations," the foreign ministry said in the statement carried by state news agency Xinhua.

Shortly before, asked by reporters at his hotel how China would react to his meeting with Obama, the Dalai Lama said in English with a hearty laugh: "I can almost be certain some negative, some criticism, some scold."

He declined to state how he expected Obama to support Tibetans, saying: "I think time will tell."

"Fifty years have passed. We have never given (up) hope," he said.

The Dalai Lama reiterated his stance that Tibet is part of China and said it was "essential" for the United States and other nations to seek friendly relations with the emerging power.

But the Dalai Lama also called for the world to hear "the dreams of young Chinese" and nudge the billion-plus nation to allow greater freedoms, including an end to censorship.

With the meeting with Obama, the Dalai Lama has now met every sitting US president since George H. W. Bush in 1991.

The Obama administration took office last year pledging to broaden cooperation with the rising Asian power on a range of issues including reviving the wobbly global economy and battling climate change.

Despite criticism at home, Obama did not meet the Dalai Lama when the Tibetan leader visited Washington last year in an apparent bid to start relations on the right foot with China.

But the administration has gone ahead since the start of the year with several decisions that China had warned against, including approving 6.4 billion dollars in weapons for Taiwan. Beijing claims the self-ruling island.

Some US-based analysts believe China's protests may be geared more for domestic consumption and that its leaders, like Obama, see the benefits of cooperation between the world's largest developed and developing nations.

Just hours before the meeting with the Dalai Lama, the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier arrived for a visit in Hong Kong, despite China's vows to cut off military ties with the United States due to the Taiwan arms deal.

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