New Delhi, Feb. 2 -- China has expressed strong displeasure over conferring the Dalai Lama with a Grammy Award, calling it a tool for "anti-China political manipulation." The 90-year-old Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader received the award on Sunday for his book, "Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama."

The Dalai Lama said he accepted the award with "gratitude and humility." In a statement posted on his website, he added that he viewed the honour as "as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility."

The 90-year-old has remained in exile from Tibet since 1959 and is viewed by Beijing as a rebel and separatist.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: "It is well known that the 14th Dalai Lama is...