Keen to ensure that the violence in Tibet did not cause a strain on its bilateral ties with New Delhi, China today reached out to India to apprise it of the situation in Lhasa and seek continuing support from India on the issue.

Chinese State Councillor Dan Bingguo spoke to National Security Advisor M K Narayanan over phone today and explained Beijing’s stand on the situation in Tibet, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported. It said Bingguo expressed the hope that India would “continue to show understanding and support” to the Chinese position.

On his part, Narayanan is said to have reaffirmed India’s position that Tibet is part of Chinese territory and New Delhi would not allow Tibetans to carry out anti-China political activities from Indian soil.

India will always stick to this position as it has been doing all along, Narayanan is said to have told Bingguo.

The conversation comes days after the midnight summons to Indian ambassador in Beijing Nirupama Rao by the Chinese Foreign Office to express its concerns over demonstrations by Tibetans at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi.

Today’s phone call can be seen as an attempt by China to dilute some of the unpleasantness of that incident, considering Narayanan and Bingguo enjoy a close personal rapport. The two also lead their respective national delegations on the boundary talks as special representatives and are known to get along well.

The issue of the safety of the Olympic torch during its journey to India is also understood to have come up during their telephonic conversations. China has expressed concerns about the safety of the Olympic torch with its ambassador Zhang Yan having met Home Minister Shivraj Patil on this issue.

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