Special envoys for the Dalai Lama have arrived in China for the first talks between the two sides in 15 months, but there was no hint that this round would bring progress.

Tibet experts said it was no coincidence that Beijing had agreed to resume the stalled negotiations on narrowing differences between the Communist Party leadership and the Tibetan god-king shortly before President Obama is due to meet the exiled monk.

The US State Department welcomed news of the arrival of the special envoys in Beijing today. Philip Crowley, its spokesman, said: “The United States strongly supports dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama's representatives to address longstanding differences. The Administration hopes this meeting will produce positive results and provide a foundation for future discussions to resolve outstanding issues."

President Obama is expected to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington next month, although a date has yet to be announced. Such meetings between world leaders and the Dalai Lama, accused by Beijing of trying to split Tibet from China, usually result in angry tirades from China and a cooling of relations – at least for a few months.

An encounter between the US President and the Tibetan leader had been expected to take place when the Dalai Lama — who has lived in exile in northern India since fleeing his homeland during an abortive uprising in 1959— visited Washington last year.

Those talks were postponed at the request of the United States to avoid provoking an outburst of anger from Beijing before the US President’s first visit to China last November.

Robbie Barnett, a Tibet expert at Columbia University, said: “This is pre-emptive by the Chinese, so that when President Obama meets the Dalai Lama they can say they are trying their best to make up with him. It makes Beijing look more conciliatory.”

Despite the usual hardline rhetoric emerging from Beijing towards what it calls the “Dalai Lama clique”, experts said there had been signs in recent weeks that Chinese negotiators were preparing to soften their approach so that they could demonstrate to Washington their openness to talks.

One expert said: “The Chinese know they can’t get as angry with the Americans as they did when European leaders met the Dalai Lama. It just won’t work. So they are employing different tactics.”

By agreeing to hold a ninth round of what have so far proved to be unproductive talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama, Beijing is demonstrating to Washington that it is willing to be flexible on its policy towards the monk, who is consistently vilified by officials and state media as a "splittist".

In a signal of the importance that Beijing assigns to Tibet, rocked by anti-Beijing riots and demonstrations in March and April 2008, the Communist Party last week concluded only the fifth work forum in its history to set policy for the restive Himalayan region.

For the first time, China outlined policies designed to address the difficulties of Tibetans living both in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and in Tibetan-populated districts that abut the region but are administratively separate. Beijing has long abhorred the notion of a “Greater Tibet” and one of its main charges against the Dalai Lama has been that he espouses such a view.

Times Recommends

• Sceptic challenges guru to kill him live on TV
• Taxpayers foot the bill for Zuma's lifestyle
• Oprah Winfrey meets her match