CANBERRA, Sept 12 (AFP) - Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer is to meet Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama within 30 minutes of his arrival in Australia, organising officials said Thursday.

In a blunt rebuff of China's concerns over the visit, Downer is to hold a private meeting with the Dalai Lama at Melbourne airport on Saturday evening, which the officials said would last half an hour.

The high-level greeting for the exiled leader could provoke renewed protests from China, which objects to the international status enjoyed by the symbol for Tibet's claims for independence.

Prime Minister John Howard has said he may also meet the Dalai Lama if other engagements, including a trip to Asia, permit.

Although no appointment has been made Howard is widely expected to make time for a Sydney meeting, albeit a private rather than an official one, just as his predecessor Paul Keating did during the Dalai Lama's last visit in 1992.

There are substantial gaps in the Dalai Lama's program to ensure time for a meeting with Howard.

Howard returns from overseas on September 21.

After similar talks with New Zealand leaders yesterday, the Chinese Embassy in Wellington said: "We deeply regret the New Zealand government ignored Chinese government representations and provided him with a platform for indulging in political propaganda".

Downer and Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer attempted to placate China on the issue in recent visits to Beijing.

Downer said Australia was welcoming the Dalai Lama as a religious figure rather than political leader and reaffirmed Australia's recognition of Chinese rule in Tibet.

On a recent trip to China, Fischer angered Tibet's supporters by highlighting advances in basic services since China annexed Tibet in 1959.

Significantly, a meeting with Fischer is not on the Dalai Lama's programme for a two-day visit to Canberra next week when Fischer will be acting prime minister.

In Melbourne, the focus is on religious events including a pan-Buddhist gathering and a public address.

However, in Canberra on Tuesday and Wednesday the Dalai Lama has an intensive round of talks with MPs and senators, including opposition leader Kim Beazley and government Senate leader Robert Hill.

He is also to address the National Press Club on the future of Tibet and attend a parliament house reception.

The Dalai Lama will stay in Sydney until September 29, primarily to host a Festival of Tibet which will bring together tens of thousands of Buddhists from all over Australia.