The Dalai Lama has welcomed Beijing's offer to meet one of his representatives for talks.
A Chinese state-run news agency reported that talks between China and the Tibetan spiritual leader's aides would take place in the coming days.
A spokesman for the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Takla, said it was a step in the right direction as only face-to-face meetings can lead to a resolution of the Tibetan issue.
The move marks a change in tactics on the part of Beijing, which has stepped up its criticism of the Dalai Lama since anti-government protests hit Tibet and rippled across ethnic Tibetan parts of China in the past weeks.
An unnamed Chinese official said the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with the Dalai Lama's private representative, after repeated requests from him for talks to resume.
China denounces the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Communist rule, as a traitor and has accused him of orchestrating the unrest.
Torch relay reaches Japan
Tibet has become a flashpoint for anti-China protests that have dogged the Olympic torch relay around the world and has led to calls for state leaders to boycott the Beijing Games.
Japan has called for calm but is braced for trouble with tight security for its leg of the relay.
Low-key protests began ahead of the run in Nagano at 11pm Irish time, where the flame was greeted by right-wing activists in trucks roaming the streets, displaying huge Japanese flags and blaring 'go away'.
In Hanoi, it is reported that a US citizen of Vietnamese origin had been expelled on accusations of planning anti-Chinese protests at next week's torch relay in Ho Chi Minh City.
The torch is supposed to enter Tibet in early May to ascend Mount Everest and is to travel to Tibet's capital, Lhasa, on 19 June.
