WASHINGTON, April 22 (AFP) - President Bill Clinton will drop by a meeting this week between Vice President Al Gore and the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, the White House said Tuesday.

In addition to the Gore meeting on Wednesday, the Dalai Lama's schedule calls for him to sit down with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

If the meeting with Clinton takes place, it will involve the same diplomatic finesse the Clinton administration used Friday in its encounter with Hong Kong's Democratic party leader Martin Lee.

To meet Lee without chilling Sino-US relations, the White House arranged for Lee to meet officially with Gore. Clinton then joined the two during their meeting.

US State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said Tuesday that the Dalai Lama would meet with Albright Thursday. The spokesman also said that the United States considers Tibet "part of China."

Burns added that the Dalai Lama's meeting with Albright would be a private event not followed by a joint press conference.

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader arrived in the United States Monday to inaugurate the Third World Parliamentarians Convention on Tibet at which legislators from around the world will try to coordinate their politics to help the Himalayan kingdom.

The international conference 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.

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 leader.

The Chinese government, which has occupied Tibet since 1951, on Tuesday repeated its criticism of the visit and urged Washington to exercise caution when it makes contacts with the religious leader.

Interviewed Tuesday on Radio Free Asia, the Dalai Lama said that "sooner or later, the Chinese government has to find a more constructive policy" concerning not only Tibet but also Hong Kong, Taiwan and Sinkiang.

"In that respect, I can make some contribution," he said. "I want to have more closer contact. I want more serious discussions. I think it is very possible," he said.