Tibet Crisis

The spokesman added that the Dalai Lama had not yet received any official communication from China. “We also have to look at when the offer does officially arrive,” he said from Dharamshala, India, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile. “We have to look at conditions they are talking about.”

For weeks, Chinese officials have castigated the Dalai Lama in harsh language and blamed him for orchestrating the violent Tibetan protests that erupted March 14 in Lhasa and then spread across other Tibetan regions of western China. The Dalai Lama has denied any involvement in the demonstrations and denounced the violence, if also criticizing China for its crackdown against protesters.

China’s tough stance came as international leaders, including President Bush, have described the Dalai Lama as a man of peace and called on China to resume a dialogue with his envoys that began in 2002 but then broke off last summer after six rounds of talks. Those talks, focused on the future status of Tibet and whether the Dalai Lama will be allowed to return to China, never made significant progress.

The timing of China’s announcement suggests that party leaders hope to defuse the international criticism that has steadily mounted since the Tibetan protests began. In Europe, criticism is particularly strong as several government leaders have announced they will not attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Anti-China protesters caused violent disruptions to the Olympic torch relay in London and Paris, forcing relay organizers to change the route in other cities out of security concerns. China supporters have responded by flooding to the relay route.

“I believe the important question is whether China is doing this as a public relations maneuver to respond to international pressure before the Olympic Games,” said Wang Lixiong, a scholar in Beijing who has criticized government policy in Tibet. “They want the Dalai Lama to help them relieve pressure before the Olympics. But is it a sincere move, or just a public relations move?”

Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at People’s University in Beijing, said the Chinese government does not want the talks to be “interpreted as a concession under duress.” He predicted that any discussions would be unlikely to bring meaningful breakthroughs.

“I doubt that both sides will change their fundamental positions,” Mr. Shi said. “If there is dialogue, this is dialogue for the sake of dialogue. Maybe both sides only want to impress the Western audience.”

This week, high-level talks aimed at repairing damaged relations have been under way between China and European leaders, notably the French. In recent days, China and France have been working assiduously to defuse the public anger and mutual accusations that began with the Tibetan protests. The Chinese have been enraged by the anti-Chinese protests during the Paris leg of the torch relay and also by threats from President Nicholas Sarkozy of France that he might boycott the Olympic opening ceremony.

On Thursday, President Hu Jintao met in Beijing with the president of the French Senate, Christian Poncelet, and emphasized the value that China places on Sino-French relations, even as he repeated Chinese complaints about the torch. Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao met with France’s prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, in another effort to smooth out the strained ties.

On Friday, hours before the government announced the new talks with the Dalai Lama, Mr. Wen discussed Tibet in a meeting with José Manual Barroso, president of theEuropean Union Commission. The two men also announced a new trade and economic dialogue. State media gave heavy prominence to the meetings as what appeared to be part of a broader effort to defuse public anger and possibly dilute plans for boycotts of French stores in China next month.

China has long condemned the Dalai Lama as a “splittist” who is pursuing Tibetan independence, even as the Dala Lama long ago disavowed Tibetan independence and has instead called for “genuine autonomy” within China. Chinese spokesmen often say the government would be willing to resume dialogue with the Tibetan spiritual leader but only if he shows “sincerity” in renouncing separatism and on other issues.

“It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks,” the unidentified Chinese official said in Friday’s official announcement.

Tenzin Taklha, the Tibetan spokesman, denounced these conditions as “basically baseless,” noting that the Dalai Lama has not sought independence since 1974 and supported holding the Olympics in Beijing, even after the violence erupted last month. “We have no preconditions,” he said. “We’re not saying these are conditions to talk. It’s a cause of concern for us to see repression is still continuing inside Tibet.”

Somini Sengupta contributed reporting from New Delhi and Jake Hooker contributed reporting from Beijing. Huang Yuanxi contributed research from Beijing