China Thursday rejected accusations by a representative of the Dalai Lama that it was not serious about talks over the status of Tibet.

"The central government is sincere about holding contact with the Dalai side," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters.

"Both sides have expressed their will to continue the contact."

Kelsang Gyaltsen, an envoy of the Dalai Lama - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader - said on Tuesday that Tibetans saw little point in the dialogue with Beijing, the last round of which ended at the beginning of the month.

"We do not see any useful purpose in continuing the dialogue since there is obviously a lack of political will from the Chinese leadership to seriously address the issue of Tibet," he said at the European Parliament in Brussels.

"However (our) Chinese counterparts felt the dialogue we had begun in 2002 has been useful for both sides to understand each other better."

The two sides are due to meet again in October after Beijing hosts the Olympic Games in August. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.