DHARAMSALA, India - Two envoys of the Dalai Lama who visited China last month said here that major differences exist between the
exiled Tibetan leader and Beijing.

However, envoys Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, who returned to
India earlier this month from China, said both sides were ready to continue
the contacts which were established two years ago after a decade-long
hiatus.

"We had so far the most extensive and serious exchange of views on matters
relating to Tibet. The discussions were held in a frank but cordial
atmosphere," Gyari said in his first comments on the discussions in Beijing.

"(But) it was apparent from the discussions that there are major differences
on a number of issues, including some fundamental ones," the envoy told AFP
in the northern Indian hilltop town of Dharamsala, which is the Dalai Lama's
headquarters.

"Both sides (however) acknowledged the need for more substantive discussions
in order to narrow down the gaps and reach a common ground," he added on
Wednesday.

"We stressed the need for both sides to demonstrate flexibility,
far-sightedness and vision to bridge the differences."

India has hosted the Dalai Lama since he fled Tibet in 1959 amid a failed
uprising against Chinese rule.

The Tibetan spiritual leader's government-in-exile has been headquartered in
this northern town since then.

Direct contacts between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government broke down
in 1993 and were renewed only in September 2002.
Another Tibetan delegation paid a second visit in May 2003.