The latest round of the Tibet-China dialogue, the first formal talks since the wave of unrest in March this year, has concluded with no substantive outcomes.

A report in the Chinese state media, peppered with the familiar demands that the Dalai Lama must not “support plots to fan violent criminal activities” or “seek Tibetan independence”, suggests little if any softening in the Chinese Government’s position.

Talking after the meeting, Du Qinglin, head of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, who met with Special Envoy Lodi Gyari and Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen, praised China’s policies in Tibet and its efforts ‘to realize economic development and improve people’s living standards’, stating that ‘adherence to the CPC leadership, the socialist system and the regional autonomy of ethnic minorities will not be altered’.

Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen also met with two deputy heads of the United Work Front. These officials are reported to have stated that ‘if the Dalai Lama made positive moves, the next round of contact would be held by the end of this year’.

The response from the United Work Front comes as a disappointment to Tibet Support Groups who have been pushing the dialogue to be upgraded to formal negotiations on the future of Tibet before the Olympics, emphasizing that the Dalai Lama has met all pre-conditions for substantive, results-oriented talks.

Nonetheless, the Central Tibetan Administration remains positive. “The fact they spent two solid days discussing Tibet is an indication that the Chinese side is serious about resolving this issue,” said Thubten Samphel of the Department of Information and International Relations.