Authorities said yesterday that the door for contact and talks remains open to the Dalai Lama, but no concessions will be made on issues concerning national sovereignty.

Du Qinglin, head of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, private envoys of the Dalai Lama, in Beijing, the department said in a statement yesterday.

No exact date was given in the statement.