BEIJING, Nov 25 (AFP) - A high-ranking Chinese official urged the boy chosen by Beijing as the "reincarnation" of Tibetan Buddhism's second highest figure, to uphold "patriotism," the official Xinhua news agency said.

Zhao Puchu, vice president of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) told Panchen Erdini, 6, to "make great progress in his religious and secular studies, and contribute to ethnic solidarity, the prosperity of the country (China)."

The boy, according to Xinhua, said he hoped to "become a living buddha who pledges his love to his country and buddhism."

The remarks were made during a ceremony in Beijing to mark the anniversary of the boy's official nomination by China's State Council, Xinhua said.

Beijing's choice of the Panchen 'reincarnation' is disputed by Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. He had chosen another boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, currently "under protection" by the Chinese authorities.

The tenth Panchen Lama, who died in 1989, had refused to follow the Dalai Lama into exile after the crackdown which followed an Anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet in 1959.

However, a 15-year incarceration awaited the Panchen Lama, who later went on to denounce the repression unleashed by the Chinese in Tibet.

Beijing has recently tightened control over religious activity in Tibet, banning the display of the Dalai Lama's pictures in monasteries. It has launched a campaign for "education in patriotism" among monks and nuns.