WTO entry can help China change, Dalai Lama (Reuters)

COPENHAGEN, May 20 (Reuters) - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai

Lama, said on Saturday that membership of the World Trade Organisation

(WTO) could help bring China into the mainstream of the world community.

"I think it is a positive development," the Dalai Lama told Reuters in a

brief interview, referring to the market access deal agreed on Friday

between China and the European Union, which was seen removing the last

major hurdle to Chinese WTO entry.

The Dalai Lama's endorsement provided more clout for the Clinton

administration in Washington in its attempt to persuade the U.S. Congress

to approve permanent normal trade relations with China.

"We welcome his support for bringing China into the WTO," said White House

spokesman Jake Siewert. "Even the people most concerned about human rights

and religious freedom in China think that bringing China into the WTO is

the right way to go."

The EU, China's third biggest trading partner with bilateral trade of

around $56 billion last year, said the WTO working party could resume

drafting China's protocol of accession in June, allowing the WTO general

council to consider China's entry this summer.

"Joining the World Trade Organisation, I think, is one way (for China) to

change in the right direction," the Dalai Lama said after delivering a

speech at Copenhagen University on the third day of a four-day visit to

Denmark.

The interview with Reuters was organised by the U.S. embassy in Copenhagen.

"I have always stressed that China should not be isolated. China must be

brought into the mainstream of the world community," he said.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India after a bloody uprising against Chinese

rule in 1959 and has since led the nonviolent opposition to China's grip on

Tibet from exile.

Some critics in the West have argued that alleged human rights abuses by

Chinese troops and civil servants against Tibetans must stop before China

can become a member of the WTO.

The U.S. Congress must approve permanent normal trade relations for China,

to help pave the way for WTO entry.

The U.S. House of Representatives has been divided over next week's vote,

but support grew rapidly on Thursday after lawmakers reached an agreement

to monitor China's human rights record. Passage in the U.S. Senate is

virtually guaranteed.

The Dalai Lama said it was "very essential" to create in China an

environment marked by "the rule of law." This would help make China "more

prosperous and healthy," he said.

In the field of economy, China was already willing to join the world

community, the Dalai Lama said, adding: "But at the same time the Chinese

leadership is a little reluctant to join world democracy."

The international community should work to dispel what he described as this

"unnecessary fear." It would be to the mutual benefit of China and the rest

of the world if Beijing joined world democracy, he said.

Asked whether he saw any benefit for Tibet from Chinese membership of the

WTO, the Dalai Lama said: "In the long run, no doubt 'yes'." He declined to

elaborate.

Before China can join the WTO it must also reach bilateral WTO agreements

with Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Switzerland.

Dalai Lama-WTO (AP)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- The Dalai Lama said Sunday the trade deal

between Beijing and the European Union to open Chinese markets to European

goods would help China become a democratic nation.

"That is a good thing," the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said. "For many

years, I have always insisted, emphasized that China, the most populated

nation, is a very important nation."

"Therefore China should not be isolated, China must be in the mainstream of

the world community," he said as he wrapped up a three-day visit to this

Scandinavian nation.

The agreement clinched Friday cleared Beijing's biggest hurdle to joining

the World Trade Organization and increased pressure on the U.S. Congress to

give China permanent normal trading rights.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 with thousands of supporters after a

failed revolt against Chinese rule. From his headquarters at Dharmsala, in

northern India, he has headed a nonviolent struggle for Tibetan autonomy,

and says he is prepared to hold talks with China on autonomy for his

homeland.

Asked whether the trade agreement was positive for Tibet, he replied, "In

the long run, certainly yes. Forces of democracy in China get more

encouragement through that way."

As part of the deal, tariffs on 150 items that Europe produces -- from gin

to shoes -- will fall an average of 40 percent and mobile telephone

companies will get quicker access to China's markets once China joins the

WTO.

"The new agreement is a further positive development," Dalai Lama said at a

news conference as he ended a three-day visit.

The 1989 Nobel peace laureate, who was on a European tour, spoke to

reporters at Copenhagen's airport after a 50-minute meeting with Danish

Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.

Nyrup Rasmussen met with the Dalai Lama despite objections by the Chinese

government, which says any support for the Dalai Lama would be meddling in

internal Chinese affairs.