HONG KONG (AP): The Dalai Lama's representatives departed Tuesday from China with a solid offer from Beijing for future talks, marking a small step toward expanding dialogue between the two sides following anti-government riots in Tibet.

``It was a good first step,'' special envoy Lodi Gyari said at Hong Kong's airport Tuesday as he and Kelsang Gyaltsen prepared to return to Dharmsala, India, the home of the exiled Tibetan leader. ``We were all very candid. We had a very candid discussion.''

Lodi Gyari said the daylong talks held Sunday in the southern city of Shenzhen with the Chinese negotiators ``was as planned.''

``These are people Kelsang and I have dealt with for many years, so personally we have a good rapport so that was always very helpful,'' he said.

He said they would report back to the Dalai Lama before announcing a date for a second round of talks.

Both China's state broadcaster and the official Xinhua News Agency confirmed the two sides had agreed to a second round of talks. Xinhua said, however, that Chinese officials told the Dalai Lama's envoys that recent protests had created new obstacles to communication.

International critics have accused China of heavy-handed tactics in quelling anti-government riots and protests in Tibet and Tibetan areas of western China that began in March. Some experts believe Beijing agreed to meet with the envoys to ease that criticism ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August.

``What we need is a continuing dialogue in good faith,'' said Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.

``China needs to be open and transparent about Tibet so far as the international community is concerned, but also needs to engage in a positive and constructive, good-faith dialogue with the Dalai Lama and his representatives,'' said Smith, who was in Hong Kong to give a speech.

It is the first time the two sides have sat down together since talks broke down in 2006 after six rounds. Despite China's vilification of the Dalai Lama, both sides have kept back channels for dialogue open.

The Dalai Lama, the Buddhist spiritual leader who fled Tibet in 1959 amid a Chinese crackdown, has previously said he wants some form of autonomy that would allow Tibetans to freely practice their culture, language and religion. Beijing has blamed the Dalai Lama for fomenting the latest unrest. The Tibetan leader has repeatedly denied the accusation.

China says 22 people died in violence in Tibet's capital of Lhasa in March, while overseas Tibet supporters say many times that number died in protests and a subsequent crackdown.