China accuses Dalai Lama of organising riots

"There is ample fact and plenty of evidence proving this incident was organised, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique," Wen told a news conference.

"This has all the more revealed the consistent claims by the Dalai clique that they pursue not independence but peaceful dialogue are nothing but lies."

The Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959, has denied Chinese accusations that he incited the rioting.

Monk-led pro-independence protests - the biggest in almost two decades - erupted in the Tibet's regional capital, Lhasa, last Monday and have spilled into nearby Chinese provinces populated by Tibetans.

Some turned ugly, weighing uncomfortably on China, which is anxious to polish its image in the build-up to the Beijing Olympic Games in August.

China appreciates India's actions against Tibetan protesters

China on Tuesday said Tibet was a "very sensitive issue" in Sino-Indian relations but appreciated New Delhi's action against Tibetan pro-independence protests.

"The Tibetan issue is a very sensitive one in our relations with India," Premier Wen Jiabao said at his maiden press conference at the ornate Great Hall of the People after being elected to a second five-year term.

"We appreciate the position and the steps taken by the Indian government in handling Tibetan independence activities masterminded by the Dalai clique," Wen told reporters in the first public comments by any top Chinese leader on the most vicious protests against Chinese rule in Tibet since 1989 that have erupted in Lhasa and elsewhere since Friday.

Wen said he enjoyed "broad agreement" with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the Tibet issue. Singh had visited Beijing in January.

Ten of thousands of Tibetan refugees and exiles, including top spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, are staying in India.

India, in a delicate balancing act, had expressed "distress over the unsettled situation" in Tibet and hoped that the "causes" for it would be resolved through dialogue.