China has criticised a lawsuit in Spain against former Chinese president Hu Jintao over allegations of human rights abuses in Tibet.
"Tibet is an inseparable part of China," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing on Friday, adding the region's affairs are a Chinese "domestic" matter.
"We are firmly opposed to any country or any individuals' interference in China's domestic affairs under the pretext of the Tibet-related issue," she said.
Hua's comments came after a Spanish court agreed to hear a lawsuit against Hu as part of an investigation into whether he carried out genocide in Tibet in the 1980s and 1990s.
The court decided to hear the complaint after accepting an appeal against a decision by Judge Ismael Moreno, who in June had rejected it, according to a judicial decree published Thursday.
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Since 2006, Moreno has been hearing a lawsuit for alleged genocide against various former Chinese leaders over repression carried out in Tibet in the 1980s and 1990s.
The lawsuit, which was filed by the Tibet Support Committee, targeted seven past Chinese leaders, among them former president Jiang Zemin and former prime minister Li Peng.
It asked for Hu to be charged once his immunity as head of state expired. He stepped down in March this year.
