Barack Obama will meet with the Dalai Lama today as scheduled despite China's firm and repeated opposition, according to media in the United States.

The meeting will be in the White House Map Room instead of the Oval Office, while the US president is unlikely to make a public appearance with the Dalai Lama, reported Associated Press.

Despite the choice of location, however, any state leader who meets with the Dalai Lama in private or public risks damaging relations with China, said Pang Zhongying, an international relations expert with the Beijing-based Renmin University of China.