BEIJING, Dec 1 (AFP) - An official Chinese newspaper has issued a stern warning against the "narrow nationalism" practised by some of the country's ethnic minorities, especially in Tibet.

"Narrow nationalists never see their own shortcomings and never think of other nationalities, thus inciting mistrust and strengthening splittist ideas," said a front-page editorial in the Tibet Daily seen here Sunday.

While nationalism is very much the political flavour-of-the-month with the Chinese government, the editorial underlined that exclusive regional or ethnic variations are unacceptable to the central authorities.

"The unity of our country depends on the unity of nationalities," the newspaper said, warning that if relations between different Chinese ethnic groups were allowed to deteriorate, "social stability and development will be seriously affected."

Specifically referring to the situation in Tibet, the editorial said "narrow nationalism" had become a potent weapon among followers of the region's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

"The Dalai clique has sought to distort history and disrupt unity by spreading reactionary propaganda on nationalism and the relations between nationalities," it said.

The newspaper also accused some communist party officials of failing to recognise the threat and inadvertently promoting the spread of narrow nationalism throughout the region.