New Delhi - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's special envoys began talks in Beijing with Chinese officials on Tuesday, an official of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in India said.

"The talks started this morning and will continue till tomorrow evening," Thubten Samphel, secretary of the department of information and international relations said over telephone from Dharamsala. the northern Indian hill town that is the headquarters of the Dalai Lama and the government-in-exile.

The Dalai Lama's envoys flew to Beijing on Monday for a seventh round of negotiations with Chinese officials on the Tibetans' demand for greater autonomy and religious and cultural freedom. The first round of the dialogue was held in 2002.

The latest round of talks comes against the backdrop of unrest in Tibet and protests by Tibetan exiles worldwide in a bid to draw attention to China's alleged repression during the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games scheduled to held in August.

Samphel said he was not aware of which Chinese officials were involved in the current talks. Zhu Weiqun, executive vice minister of China's Central United Front Work Department and Sithar, vice minister in the same department, had represented China in past rounds of talks, he said. (dpa)