The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's 11-day tour of Australia has created a furor in Beijing, which regards the 71-year-old Buddhist icon as a beacon for pro-independence sentiment in Tibet. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he seeks only autonomy for the region, which China rules by military force.

Decisions by top political leaders to meet the Dalai Lama this week have generated friction between Australia and China, whose economies are becoming more entwined thanks to the communist giant's voracious appetite for coal and other minerals and Australia's ability to supply them.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark met the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner by "serendipity" at an Australian airport early Thursday, her foreign minister, Winston Peters, told a parliamentary committee Thursday. Peters did not say what the two figures discussed, only that they talked for some time.

At a news conference in Sydney, the Buddhist monk repeated his position that Tibet should be granted autonomy within China, not full independence, to preserve its language and culture.

"Our approach is to bring general unity, harmony between the central government of China and Tibet," he said. "We have to learn to live side by side."

Without genuine autonomy, he said, Tibet could face "extinction" in 15 years, he said, echoing earlier comments.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has announced he too will meet with the Dalai Lama on Friday _ a move that provoked immediate criticism from China, which rules Tibet with military force.

"Dalai Lama is not a simple religious figure, he is a political exile engaged in 'splittist' activities for a long time," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday.

He said China was "firmly against" any country that allows the Dalai Lama to visit to push for Tibetan independence.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said it was "not a proposition" for Australia to deny entry to a respected religious figure like the Dalai Lama.

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