Dalai Lama reiterates he wants mutual solution on Tibet

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama greets devotees at the Buddha Park in Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh, India, Wednesday, April 5, 2017. China criticized India on Wednesday for allowing the Dalai Lama to visit the disputed border region, saying it did not consider the matter a purely internal Indian affair and warning it would damage bilateral relations. India said Tuesday that China should not interfere in its domestic issues, as the Dalai Lama began a weeklong visit to Arunachal Pradesh in India's remote northeast. ( AP Photo/ Tenzin Choejor)

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama greets devotees at the Buddha Park in Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh, India, Wednesday, April 5, 2017. ( AP Photo/ Tenzin Choejor) (The Associated Press)

NEW DELHI – The Dalai Lama says he has been seeking a mutually acceptable solution to the Tibetan issue with China since 1974 but that Beijing considers him a "splittist."

The Tibetan spiritual leader says he developed a direct contact with the Chinese leadership in 1979 and reiterates he is not seeking Tibet's independence.

He said he is not a "splittist" but that China considers him one.

So, the Chinese government wants him to fight for Tibet's independence, he said amidst laughter by an audience of educationists in New Delhi.

He said the Chinese and Tibetans can live side by side with China helping the Tibetans economically and gaining from their knowledge.

The 83-year-old Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since a failed 1959 uprising in Tibet.