China, Meeting Dalai Lama Aides, Says Tibet Riots Harmed Ties

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese government officials, in a meeting with aides to the Dalai Lama, said they are willing to hold more discussions even though riots in Tibet in March harmed ties between the two sides.

Zhu Weiqun and Sitar, an official who uses only one name, met with two aides to the Tibetan spiritual leader in the southern city of Shenzhen yesterday and made clear that the March 14 riots in Lhasa ``had given rise to new obstacles for resuming contacts,'' the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

``The two sides agreed another round of contact would be held at an appropriate time,'' Xinhua reported. No date was fixed for new talks.

China blames supporters of the Dalai Lama for organizing the unrest in Lhasa and nearby provinces to try to sabotage Beijing's hosting of the Olympic Games in August. The U.S. has led international calls for the Chinese government to resume talks with the Dalai Lama who says he is seeking more autonomy, not independence, for the Himalayan region.

The protests in March were the largest since pro- independence demonstrations led to martial law being imposed in Tibet in 1989.

China says 18 civilians and one police officer died in the March 14 violence. Tibet's government-in-exile said last week that 203 people were killed since protests against Chinese rule erupted in the Himalayan region on March 10.

The authorities in Tibet said 30 people were jailed, including three given life sentences, for offences during the unrest, Xinhua reported last week.

Informal Talks

The Chinese officials met with Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama's Washington-based special envoy, and Kelsang Gyaltsen, his envoy to the European Union. The discussions were ``informal talks,'' Chhime R. Chhoekyapa, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama, said yesterday in a telephone interview from Dharamshala, northern India, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based. ``We have neither high nor low expectations,'' he said as the talks began.

Zhu and Sitar answered questions raised by the two envoys and exchanged views with them on future contacts, Xinhua said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao said before the meeting he hoped there would be a ``positive outcome'' from the discussions, according to Xinhua.

``We sincerely hope the Dalai Lama and his supporters will show through concrete actions they have stopped activities of splitting the country, stopped plotting and inciting violent activities and stopped undermining the Beijing Olympics, to create conditions for further consultation,'' Hu said.

China has always kept the ``door to dialogue'' open to the Dalai Lama, Hu said.

Last Meeting

The last official discussions between representatives of China and the Tibetan government-in-exile took place in July 2007. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

China's decision to meet with the Dalai Lama's envoys may defuse pro-Tibet protests that threaten to disrupt the Games.

Protesters from Paris to San Francisco have used the Olympic torch relay to highlight criticism of China's policies in Tibet and Sudan's Darfur region and the nation's human rights record. The torch has arrived back in mainland China after its relay of international cities.