Friday, June 25, 1999 Published at 07:13 GMT 08:13 UK
China weighs in on loan controversy
China has opened a major exhibition hailing Tibetan reforms
China has expressed its gratitude to the World Bank for approving a controversial $160m loan to China, despite the opposition of the United States and Tibetan activists.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said the decision "upheld justice and safeguarded the World Bank's principles".
China argues it is an important project intended to alleviate poverty.
The loan will enable the authorities to fund the transfer of 58,000 Han Chinese farmers from an over-populated area of Qinghai province to an area further west, historically inhabited by Tibetan nomads.
The United States - and Tibetan activists - argued that the loan effectively endorsed Beijing's policy of trying to dilute the ethnic Tibetan population.
In a concession to the US, the Bank imposed a temporary freeze on the resettlement money until a panel reviews whether the decision violates the Bank's own rules.
Dalai Lama's birthplace
Western Qinghai is not actually part of Tibet, but was the birthplace of the Dalai Lama.
The United States and Germany both voted against the proposed loan and a further four of the board's 24 members abstained, World Bank sources said.
The loan was delayed following the US threat, as World Bank Chairman, James Wolfensohn, attempted to find a compromise.
Beijing angry at Washington
China accused the United States for attempting to block the funds.
On Thursday, a government official demanded that Washington "stop using the Tibetan issue to interfere in China's internal affairs".
Beijing said the American stand was aimed at damaging the unity of China's different ethnic groups and called on Washington to drop its opposition to the loan.
Relations between Washington and Beijing have already been put under strain by Nato's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during its air campaign against Yugoslavia.