BEIJING, Nov 11 (AFP) - China reiterated its opposition Wednesday to meetings between foreign officials and the Dalai Lama, after an aide to Barack Obama said the US leader would meet the Tibetan monk "at an appropriate time".

"China is staunchly opposed to contact between the Dalai and officials of foreign governments," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said when asked about possible talks between Obama and the exiled spiritual leader.

"Our position is consistent and clear."

Obama will likely raise the issue of Tibet when he visits Beijing next week and will meet the Dalai Lama "at an appropriate time," Jeffrey Bader, a senior aide to Obama on Asia policy, said this week.

"The president will raise human rights concerns directly with President Hu (Jintao) in his meetings," Bader said.

"I have every reason to expect that the issue of Tibet will come up on the trip."

The White House has said Obama would meet the Dalai Lama later this year, but only after he pays his first presidential visit to China, with which the administration has been building warm relations.

The Dalai Lama fled Chinese-ruled Tibet more than 50 years ago and is seen by Beijing as a separatist seeking independence for his Himalayan homeland -- an accusation that the Buddhist monk has repeatedly denied.