The Dalai Lama’s envoys and Chinese officials are planning a second round of talks, China’s state-run news agency said today.

The Dalai Lama’s envoys met Chinese officials today – the first talks between the two sides have since violent anti-government protests erupted in Tibet.

China agreed today to meet an envoy of the Dalai Lama following growing calls for talks in the wake of Tibetans’ anti-government protests, which threaten to tarnish this summer’s Beijing Olympic Games.

Chinese state media today said the government will meet a private representative of the Dalai Lama soon.

Chinese president Hu Jintao says the recent unrest in Tibet is purely an internal affair that directly concerns the sovereignty of the world’s most populous nation.

The Dalai Lama insisted today he supports China’s hosting of the Olympics in August, despite international condemnation of the country’s handling of anti-government riots in his native Tibet.

China has ordered more ideological education in Tibet to reduce support for exiled Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama.