By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuter) - President Bill Clinton met the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled leader, at the White House on Wednesday but posed for no pictures with him, apparently wary of offending China.

White House officials said Clinton spent about five minutes with Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama and winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.

The president was described as having "dropped in" on the Buddhist leader's scheduled meeting with Vice President Al Gore, which lasted about 40 minutes.

Gore met the Dalai Lama, 60, in his capacity as a religious leader, not as head of the government-in-exile he has set up in Dharamsala, India, "to discuss a range of international and ethical issues," the White House said.

"As he has done the past two years, President Clinton briefly joined the meeting to pay his respects to the Dalai Lama and to express his concern for the preservation of Tibetan religion and culture," spokesman Mike McCurry said in a written statement.

The statement said the United States continued to urge high-level talks between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama "to resolve differences." The Dalai Lama is campaigning for a measure of autonomy from China, which sent troops into Tibet in 1950.

"The president and the vice president lauded the Dalai Lama's resolve, consistent commitment to non-violence and his pragmatic approach to negotiations with China," the White House added.

The Dalai Lama said on Monday he was ready to resume talks with China on the future of his troubled Himalayan region "any place, any time," including in Beijing.

Beijing, which regards Tibet as part of China, has protested previous White House meetings with the Dalai Lama as interference in China's internal affairs. Beijing made the same complaint about a landmark U.S. visit in June by President Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province.

In addition to barring outside photographers, the White House said it would release no official pictures of the meeting. On Monday, the Dalai Lama told reporters he understood Clinton's reluctance to upset China at this delicate time in Sino-U.S. relations.

Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama's special envoy, said the Dalai Lama felt deeply touched by the president and vice president's "genuine concern for the Tibetan people and the warm reception accorded to him."

He appealed to them to increase their efforts to bring China to the negotiating table, Gyari added in a written statement.

"The Dalai Lama encouraged the U.S. to improve relations with China through a policy of responsible engagement," the statement said. "He stressed the importance of providing consistent and firm support for openness and democracy in China, and for his effort to achieve self-rule in Tibet."