China denounced the Dalai Lama's trip to Taiwan, saying the visit by a man Beijing brands a separatist could have a 'negative influence' on relations, Chinese state media said on Monday.

The Tibetan spiritual leader arrived late on Sunday in Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, to comfort victims of the island's worst typhoon in 50 years which struck this month, triggering floods that killed about 570 people.

'I'm very, very strict, (the trip is of a) non-political nature,' the Dalai Lama told reporters on arrival from India, appearing to try to reassure Beijing.

Organisers had originally planned to host a news conference for the Dalai Lama on Monday, but that was cancelled, with the 1988 Nobel peace prize winner starting his day visiting flood-ravaged villages.

As with a denunciation it issued when the visit was announced last week, China focused its criticism on the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

By not blaming Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou or the ruling Nationalist Party (KMT), Beijing may have indicated that it does not wish to escalate the issue which brings together China's two most sensitive territorial issues - Tibet and Taiwan.

China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's forces won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

'The Democratic Progressive Party has ulterior motives to instigate the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan, who has long been engaged in separatist activities,' a spokesman for China's State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

'We resolutely oppose this and our position is firm and clear,' the spokesman said. 'The Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan is bound to have a negative influence on the relations between the mainland and Taiwan.'    

China, which is considered unlikely to retaliate by choking off growing economic ties between the long-time political rivals, has always opposed the Dalai Lama's trips abroad and blames him for stirring up riots in Tibetan regions ahead of the Beijing Olympics last year.

Beijing calls the Dalai Lama a reactionary who seeks to split off nearly a quarter of the land mass of the People's Republic of China. It has been using its diplomatic clout to try to block the pro-Tibetan message.

The Dalai Lama denies the charge and says he seeks greater rights, including religious freedom, and autonomy for Tibetans.-Reuters