Beijing - China on Thursday protested British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans to meet the Dalai Lama and said reports that it had softened its stance on dialogue with the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader were inaccurate.
"Some reports are not very accurate," foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang when asked about reports that Premier Wen Jiabao had told Brown that China was ready to hold talks with the Dalai Lama if he renounced violence and independence.
During a telephone conversation with Brown on Wednesday, Wen had "just reiterated his willingness for dialogue" with the Dalai Lama on China's long-held terms, Qin said.
China was "seriously concerned" by Brown's statement that he planned to meet the Dalai Lama in May, accusing the India-based Buddhist leader of organising and inciting violent protests in Tibetan areas of China this month.
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"As we have repeatedly pointed out, Dalai is a political refugee engaged in activities of splitting China under the camouflage of religion," Qin said.
The Dalai Lama rejected those accusations on Tuesday, saying from India that he and the Tibetan government-in-exile remained committed to non-violence and that he would step aside as the Tibetan leader if Tibetans chose a path of violence.
He also called for an independent inquiry into the violence between Chinese forces and Tibetan pro-independence demonstrators, which was touched off by the 49th anniversary of the failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule on March 10.
The central government has confirmed 13 deaths during rioting on Friday in Lhasa, and the Tibetan government in exile said it had confirmed the death of at least 80 people there. Exile groups have also reported deaths in violence in other parts of Tibet as well as outside the region.
Brown, speaking in the British parliament on Wednesday, said he would meet with the Dalai Lama when the Nobel peace laureate visits London.
The Dalai Lama has publicly renounced independence in favour of maximum autonomy and religious freedom for Tibet within China, but Beijing continues to accuse him of seeking independence and blames him for the lack of dialogue.
Claims by supporters of the Dalai Lama that they wanted peaceful dialogue were "nothing but lies", but China was still willing to meet him on its terms, Wen said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"As long as the Dalai Lama is willing to give up the so-called Tibet independence and accepts that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, our door is wide open," he said when asked about the possibility of direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
Tibet activists greeted Brown's decision to meet with the Dalai Lama.
China has criticised other world leaders who have met with the 72-year-old, including US President George Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel last year. - Sapa-dpa
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