BEIJING - China has condemned Mongolia for playing host to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama who is on a visit to China's northerly neighbour.

"The Chinese government strongly opposes ... any country providing the Dalai Lama with a venue for his separatist activities," the Foreign Ministry said.

"The Dalai Lama is not a simple or pure religious figure. He is a political exile who undertakes secessionist activities abroad and damages the unity of nationalities," the ministry said.

Before Monday, the Dalai Lama had visited Mongolia five times since the early 1990s, most recently in 2002.