Tibetan government says willing to talk to China

The Tibetan government-in-exile said on Tuesday it was willing to talk to China after US president Barack Obama called for resumption of dialogue to resolve the Tibet crisis.

"The Tibetan government's standing offer is we are open for talks again if China is willing to listen," Karma Chopel, a senior official in the Tibetan government said on Tuesday.

"The initiative has to come from them, and we are more than willing to talk," he told Reuters.

Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama have held eight rounds of talks, but little of substance has been achieved.

The Dalai Lama, dubbed a "splittest" by Beijing, says he is merely seeking autonomy for Tibet, which last year erupted in riots and protests against the Chinese presence.

"We handed over a written memorandum to the Chinese side, which they rejected during the OctoberNovember last round of talks," Chopel said from Dharamsala, the north Indian hill town where the Dalai Lama lives.

Obama is scheduled to meet the Dalai Lama after his return to Washington, a meeting which China has vehemently objected to.