WASHINGTON, April 22 (AFP) - The Dalai Lama will meet with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during his visit to Washington despite likely objections from Beijing, the State Department said Tuesday.

State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns reiterated meanwhile that Washington considers Tibet "part of China" but said US officials hope Beijing will begin a "dialogue" with the Tibetan spiritual leader.

The talks Thursday with Albright "will be more on religious issues than political issues," Burns said, adding that Washington was pressing the issue of religious freedom in China.

The Dalai Lama, who arrived here late Monday from France, was to meet with other government officials and congressmen during his four-day visit.

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader came to inaugurate the Third World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet.

The Dalai Lama was expected to meet with Vice President Al Gore, Albright and senior Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms and House International Relations Committee chairman Ben Gilman.

However, there was no word yet on whether the Nobel laureate would meet with President Bill Clinton. The White House said Friday a non-official meeting would be possible.

Though the United States has traditionally been sympathetic to the Dalai Lama's message, a meeting with Clinton would anger China at a time when Sino-US ties are steadily becoming more firm.

Before the Dalai Lama began his overseas tour, which included a visit to Spain, China warned France and other western governments that they should keep pledges to have no official contacts with the Tibetan spiritual leader.

The international conference on Tibet has been organised jointly by the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, located in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, and the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama is also expected to lead an interfaith gathering at the opulent National Cathedral late Thursday, along with US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and Northern Ireland peace activist Mairead Maguire.