BOSTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The dalai lama, claiming that the decimation of Tibetan culture has reached a crisis point, urged the United States on Saturday to improve its relations with China to prevent the annihilation of one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

"A strong and positive relationship between the U.S. and China will not only benefit the two countries, but will also help solve the Tibet problem," the dalai lama told an audience of close to 4,000 Americans and Tibetans at the Wang Center for Performing Arts in Boston.

The dalai lama, who has been voicing his non-violent appeal for an independent Tibet since Chinese forces invaded the Himalayan nation in 1949, said stability in China depended on the resolution of its human rights issues, including the Tibetan problem.

He said Tibetan culture has been brought to the edge of extinction through the systematic repression of Tibetan language and culture, and the government's program to promote mass emigration of Chinese to water down the native Tibetan population.

"This situation has become so serious, time is running out. If Tibetan culture disappears, it will be a great loss to Tibet, China and the world community. We have to look for a political solution to this cultural genocide," said the Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his advocacy of non-violent resistance to Chinese rule.

The exiled spiritual and political leader of six million Tibetans warned that China is "on the brink of an epic change" that could result in political chaos and bloodshed, but could also mean a softening on the Tibetan issue with the aging of the old guard, who orchestrated the 1949 invasion.

He said only international pressure, led by the United States, can restore Tibet's rights to political and cultural self-determination in the face of China's persistent refusal to negotiate even partial independence of the region.

"I'm appealing to the international community. Please help save this nation. Help Tibetan culture to survive. Please help bring China to the negotiation table," the 60-year-old Buddhist monk said.

An estimated 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a result of the Chinese occupation. Several hundred thousand have settled in India and emigrated to the United States through refugee programs, including more than 1,000 in the Boston area.

Massachusetts Governor William Weld, in a show of support for the dalai lama's campaign for a free Tibet, has decreed Sept. 9 "Tibetan Self-Determination Day," Senate President William Bulger announced at the Wang Center event.

The dalai lama's U.S. speaking tour included stops at colleges in Atlanta and Houston. He is scheduled to meet with Harvard University student activists and speak at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government on Sunday.

The tour, which culminates Sept. 13 with a speech at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. , is sponsored by the International Campaign for Tibet.

The dalai lama was recognized in 1935 at the age of 2 as the 14th incarnation of Tibet's traditional leader.