China has reacted to the announcement from the Dalai Lama that he will be reincarnated after his death and a successor will be appointed.

The Tibetan spiritual leader ended years of speculation by saying Wednesday that the next Dalai Lama should be found and recognized according to past Buddhist traditions, signaling that China should stay away from the process.

However, China’s foreign ministry was quick to issue a statement, saying that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation “must be approved by the central government.”

“The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and other great Buddhist figures must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn, and approved by the central government,” Mao Ning, foreign ministry spokeswoman, said at a press briefing, Reuters reports.

“The Chinese government implements a policy of freedom of religious belief, but there are regulations on religious affairs and methods for managing the reincarnation of Tibetan living Buddhas.”

Dalai Lama Announces Succession Plan

Speaking on Wednesday at prayer celebrations ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, the Dalai Lama said: “I am affirming that the institution will continue.”

He emphasized that the responsibility for identifying and recognizing his reincarnation rests entirely with the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the nonprofit he established in 2015 to manage the spiritual leader’s affairs and the institution of the Dalai Lama.

“No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” he said.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, assumed his role in 1940. Following the violent suppression of a 1959 uprising in Lhasa by Chinese forces, he fled Tibet and has since made his home in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala, in India. There, he helped establish a democratic government-in-exile and has traveled extensively, advocating for Tibetan autonomy.

Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama has the ability to choose the body into which he will reincarnate, a tradition upheld 14 times since the institution’s founding in 1587. The Dalai Lama has previously stated that his successor will be born outside of China.

China Claims Authority in Selection of Next Dalai Lama

China has long maintained that it holds exclusive authority in selecting the next religious leader. Beijing insists that the reincarnated Dalai Lama must be identified within its Tibetan territories, granting the Communist Party significant control over the decision.

There has long been speculation the rift could result in two competing Dalai Lamas: one chosen by the Chinese government and another backed by high-ranking monks loyal to the current Dalai Lama.