BEIJING, April 22 (AFP) - China kept up its relentless assault Tuesday on the Dalai Lama, with a vitriolic depiction of the Tibetan spiritual leader as the lackey of anti-China forces in the West.

The latest in a series of similar denuciations came the same day as Beijing warned Washington to exercise "prudence" over the Dalai Lama's ongoing visit to the United States.

The Dalai Lama is expected to meet with Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, but there has yet to be confirmation of a possible meeting with President Bill Clinton.

"The Dalai Lama's activities to split the motherland are backed by Western anti-China forces, with whom he has colluded and for whom he has been a most willing tool, in order to fulfil his political scheme," said a commentary carried by the official Xinhua news agency.

Arguing that without the support of the West, the Dalai Lama would never have been able to maintain his campaign for Tibetan independence, Xinhua said the exiled spiritual leader had been co-opted into a general anti-China movement.

"The Dalai Lama was resurrected and pushed to the fore, after being garbed from head to toe by Western anti-China forces," it said.

The commentary also accused him of sending spies to Tibet and other activists of being bent on inciting terrorism and unrest.

"Attempts by Western anti-China forces to contain China's development and their attempts to hide the truth and mislead the public will ultimately fail," it said.

"As their tool, the Dalai Lama, in spite of his changing activities to split the motherland, will also come to no good end."