China says next round of Tibet talks in early July
BEIJING (Reuters) - China and representatives of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will resume talks in early July, Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.
Chinese officials met the Dalai Lama's representatives for talks on May 4, but further discussions originally set to start in June were postponed after an earthquake in China in May killed about 70,000 people.
The talks aim to mend fences with the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet.
Authorities announced that "relevant central government departments will meet personal representatives of the Dalai Lama at his request in early July," Xinhua said.
Xinhua's report coincided with a visit to China by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, under pressure to raise human rights and Tibet with Chinese officials
The Dalai Lama says he wants autonomy for the strategic Himalayan region, but Beijing brands him a "splittist" or separatist.
China blames a "Dalai Lama clique" for violence in Tibet in March and protests that disrupted the Olympic torch relay in several countries.
"The central authorities have kept a constant and clear policy towards the Dalai Lama," Xinhua quoted an unnamed government spokesman as saying.
"Our door is always open for dialogue with the Dalai Lama," the spokesman said.
"(We) hope that the Dalai Lama would treasure this opportunity and give positive response to the requirements of the central authorities."
Beijing has called on the Dalai Lama and his supporters to halt Tibet protests and attempts to "ruin the Olympics" in August in order to create the conditions for future roundtable talks.
The team of two Tibetan envoys said during the May talks that events in Tibet were "a clear symptom of deeply felt grievances and resentment of the Tibetans" towards Chinese government policies going back decades.
The Dalai Lama has said he supports the Olympics and has called for calm during the Beijing Games.
Washington has been a vocal critic of China's human rights record, and has urged China to continue talks with the Dalai Lama.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Charles Dick)
