The United States said Friday it hoped for “substantial progress” from a new round of talks scheduled in Beijing on Tibet, whose spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is demanding for greater autonomy.
Two envoys of the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in India went to Beijing Friday for the weeklong talks.
“The United States has long supported dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama and his representatives, and hopes this meeting leads to substantive progress on resolving longstanding differences,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.
President George W. Bush has urged the Chinese leaders to invite the Dalai Lama to China, he said.
The 71-year-old Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet after a failed uprising against China in 1959, has campaigned for the six million Tibetans under Chinese rule from the seat of his government-in-exile in the Indian town of Dharamsala.
But he has dropped calls for independence and called for a “middle way” of greater autonomy.
The Dalai Lama’s envoys have met with Chinese leaders five times since 2002, with the most recent round of talks taking place more than a year ago.
