Congress on Monday passed a bill that paves the way for sanctions against Chinese officials accused of interfering in the succession of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

The passage of the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020, which has been included in a government spending bill, could become another source of friction in already strained U.S.-China ties. It needs to be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

File photo taken Feb. 20, 2019, shows the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, preaching in the northern Indian city of Dharamsala. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The bill, supporting the upholding of Tibetan human rights and religious freedom in the Chinese autonomous region, says the United States will seek to hold accountable senior Chinese officials who directly interfere in the process of selecting the successor to the Dalai Lama.

Any such move would be viewed as a clear abuse of the right to religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists and the Tibetan people. Such Chinese officials could be sanctioned and prohibited from entering the United States, according to the bill.

On Tuesday, China criticized the passage of the bill, repeating its mantra that the Tibet issue concerns the country's "sovereignty and territorial integrity" and is purely its "internal affairs."

Beijing calls on the United States not to take actions that would further "harm the overall situation of Sino-U.S. cooperation and bilateral relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

The bill also urges the U.S. government to deny authorization of any additional Chinese consulates until establishment of an American consulate in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa is permitted.

The opening of a diplomatic outpost in Tibet would be expected to allow the United States to monitor political, economic, and cultural developments.

The 14th Dalai Lama, 85, who is a Nobel Peace laureate, lives in exile in the northern Indian city of Dharamsala. China views him as a separatist seeking Tibetan independence.