China has warned Australia not to let Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, carry out any "separatist activities" during his current visit.
The warning came after the
Dalai Lama made conciliatory comments about China
, and told reporters in Sydney that he was optimistic about the prospect of fresh talks on the Tibetan crisis before the Beijing Olympics.
While he reiterated his call for "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet, he urged Tibetans not to interfere with the Beijing Olympic torch relay when it passes through the capital Lhasa in coming days.
But the comments appear to have angered China, which issued a terse warning to Canberra.
"We request Australia to pay attention to our grave concerns and not allow the Dalai to engage in separatist activities on Australian territory," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing.
"The Chinese government firmly opposes the Dalai's engagement in separatist activities in any country under any name and firmly opposes any country offering the Dalai support or convenience to engage in separatist activities."
China has continued to accuse the Dalai Lama of seeking an independent Tibet, but the Buddhist leader has repeatedly denied such accusations while calling for greater autonomy for his homeland from Chinese rule.
In Sydney on Thursday, the Dalai Lama struck a conciliatory tone and said his supporters must respect China's sense of pride in the upcoming Beijing Games.
"The Olympic Games we fully support, the Olympic torch is part of that," he told reporters before resuming his teachings at a meditation seminar.
"Over a billion Chinese brothers and sisters feel very proud of it, we must respect this, therefore we should not disturb it."
Some groups critical of China's rule in Tibet have said taking the torch to the Himalayan region is an insult considering the massive Chinese security clampdown after unrest against Chinese rule exploded there in March.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 200 Tibetans have died in the crackdown. China denies those allegations and says "rioters" were responsible for 21 Tibetan deaths.
China has largely blamed the Dalai Lama for fomenting the unrest and accused him of seeking to sabotage the Olympics.
The Dalai Lama - who is in Australia for five days on what he has called a spiritual, not political, tour - said he was hopeful that talks between his envoys and Chinese officials would resume soon, possibly next month.
"Basically, I'm optimistic," he said.
He said the dialogue had not stalled, but had been postponed because of China's earthquake tragedy, which claimed tens of thousands of lives.
He praised the Chinese leadership's greater openness, saying the country had changed markedly in the past 30 or 40 years.
Dressed in his trademark billowing robes, the Dalai Lama allowed himself a chuckle when he said some people had described China's economic expansion as "communist capitalism".
He said it was "wonderful" that the Chinese government had handled its recent earthquake tragedy with much more transparency than in the past.
He distanced himself from Hollywood actress Sharon Stone's suggestion that the earthquake may be "karma", though he did say: "Every event is due to karma".
He stressed the crisis in Tibet was a lasting one, not an isolated incident.
He called on Beijing to give Tibet "meaningful autonomy", adding: "Stability must come from the heart, not a gun".
The 72-year-old Nobel laureate predicted a trouble-free visit to Tibet for the Olympic torch relay, which has been the target of anti-Beijing demonstrations in Europe, the US, Asia and Australia.
The torch is scheduled to pass through Lhasa on June 19.
The Dalai Lama met federal Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson on Wednesday and was due to meet Greens leader Bob Brown on Thursday.
Talks are also planned this week with Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, Immigration Minister Chris Evans and acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
The Dalai Lama's meditation teachings are costing Australians up to $800 for the full five-day program.