London, Nov. 11 : China has said that it will never accept the Dalai Lama''s calls for "high-level autonomy" in Tibet.

According to the Guardian, a leading expert on Tibet warned that it was "almost a point of no return" in the dialogue, and blamed Britain''s recent decision to explicitly recognize Tibet as a part of China for emboldening Beijing.

Zhu Weiqun, a vice-minister of the Chinese Communist party''s United Front Work Department, added: "If one day, [the Dalai Lama] really seizes power, he will without any compunction or sympathy carry out ethnic discrimination, apartheid and ethnic cleansing."

Zhu said there had been no progress in last week''s talks, blaming the Tibetan side. He described the current system as "perfect" and in need of no revision, adding: "There is no other way."

The government-in-exile is not commenting on its discussions with Beijing before the Dharamsala meeting.

The Dalai Lama has sounded increasingly pessimistic about the prospects of a deal, and younger Tibetans have grown impatient with his "middle path" of peacefully pursuing autonomy for Tibet within China. (ANI)