The Dalai Lama said Wednesday there will be a successor after his death. But China insists that it alone has the authority to approve the next religious leader.

China has expressed its desire for India to refrain from using Tibetan issues as a means of interfering in its internal matters, aiming to prevent any adverse impact on the progress of their bilateral relations.

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, has often called himself a simple monk, but for more than 60 years armed with little more than charm and conviction, he has managed to keep the cause of his people in the international spotlight.