Dalai Lama's envoy details Tibetan proposals at China talks

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But it was far from clear that the Chinese were ready to listen, Gyrai said.

"The Chinese did not give any assurances. They strongly defended their views," he told reporters in Dharmsala, the seat of the Tibetan governmen-in-exile.

Representatives of the Tibetan exile government met with Chinese officials over the weekend for the first time since 2006. The talks were prompted by the resurgence of violence in Tibet, which China has governed since the 1950s.

The March unrest marked the most widespread and sustained action against Beijing's rule in decades, focusing attention on accusations that China's policies in the region are eroding its traditional Buddhist culture and mainly benefit Chinese who moved there since its 1951 occupation by Communist troops.

China says 22 people died in violence in Tibet's capital of Lhasa, while overseas Tibet supporters say many times that number have been killed in protests and the ensuing security crackdown across Tibetan regions of western China.

"We made it clear that the events in Tibet are the inescapable consequences of wrong policies of the authorities toward the Tibetans," Gyari said in a statement released ahead of the news conference. "The recent crisis in Tibet is a clear symptom of deeply felt grievances and resentment of the Tibetans."

The talks were considered informal, and Gyari said the two sides were now trying to finalize dates for formal discussions.

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