The European Union has welcomed news that envoys from the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama have gone to Beijing for talks with the Chinese authorities.
It is the first such visit in about twenty years.
"The EU has long encouraged both sides to enter into dialogue," said Denmark, current EU president, in a statement on behalf of the 15-nation bloc.
"The EU hopes that this visit will pave the way for direct dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, leading to a peaceful and lasting solution to the Tibetan question. The EU will follow the visit with great interest," it said.
The two envoys, Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, arrived in Beijing on Monday and were expected to visit the Tibetan capital Lhasa during their visit.
The Dalai Lama, 67, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace prize, is revered by Tibetans as the reincarnation of a long line of Buddhist kings. He fled his Himalayan home in 1959 when an uprising failed, nine years after China imposed communist rule.
Beijing has long portrayed the Dalai Lama as a "splittist" bent on undermining the unity of the Chinese state and restoring a feudal theocracy in Tibet. The Dalai Lama says he only wants genuine autonomy, not full independence, for his homeland.
A recent visit by the Dalai Lama's elder brother to Tibet, the release of high-profile Tibetan political prisoners and an imminent leadership change in the Chinese Communist Party have raised some hopes of a softening in Beijing's line.