The 14th Dalai Lama has celebrated his 90th birthday and marked the occasion with a long-awaited announcement about the future of the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual tradition. On Wednesday, His Holiness announced via video message that the institution of the Dalai Lama would continue after his death.

Weeks before the Dalai Lama ruled out China's role in choosing his successor, President Xi Jinping met a Tibetan Buddhist monk installed three decades ago by Beijing as the faith's No. 2 leader, the Panchen Lama.