Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, pledged Tuesday to further develop and improve relations between the two countries.

During a telephone conversation, the two ministers agreed that sound relations between China and Germany are in the interest of both countries and their peoples.

On the issue of Tibet, Yang said the Dalai Lama, who does not recognize Tibet as a part of China and does not accept the existing system in the autonomous region, has never given up his separatist ambitions and has never stopped his separatist efforts.

The "middle-path" approach and "a genuine autonomy" proposed by the Dalai Lama are indeed aimed at restoring his rule of Tibet with a system that integrates religion with politics, said Yang.

His ambition to build a so-called "Greater Tibet," a region as large as nearly a quarter of the Chinese territory, and to expel all non-Tibetans from the region, is ultimately aimed at seeking independence or independence in disguise, Yang said.

Despite this, the Chinese government has shown enormous patience in maintaining contact with the Dalai Lama's representatives, Yang pointed out.

The door to dialogue with the Dalai Lama remains open as long as he stops separatist activities, stops fomenting violent unrest and stops sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games, Yang said.

With regard to the Dalai Lama, people not only need to hear what he says but also need to see what he does, the Chinese foreign minister added.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2008)