Authorities said Thursday China would support the successor to the Dalai Lama as long as his selection conforms with Chinese laws and historical rules, and the will of the Tibetan people.

But analysts doubt whether the successor could serve only as a religious leader of the Tibetans as opposed to a political one, as the Dalai Lama himself is still not free from political involvement.

In a speech delivered in New Delhi, the Dalai Lama said he is "in a semi-retirement position," adding that he has changed a tradition that had been in place for almost four centuries since the fifth Dalai Lama, in which the Dalai Lama was the political and religious leader of Tibetans, Press Trust of India reported.

Xu Zhitao, an official with the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, told the Global Times Thursday the central government revoked the Dalai Lama's role as a political leader of Tibetans after the democratic reform of Tibet in 1959.

"It's ridiculous for the Dalai Lama to say he changed the centuries-old tradition, because the tradition was already changed in 1959," said Xu.

"The central government will definitely support the Dalai Lama's successor if he or she is selected according to Chinese laws and historical rules, and the Tibetan people's will," he added.

The title of Dalai Lama, which was originally an academic title conferred by a Mongolian emperor under the rule of the Ming government (1368-1644), became a political and religious title after it was recognized by the Qing government (1644-1911), Ran Guangrong, a researcher on Tibetan studies at Sichuan University, told the Global Times.

"Since then, the selection of the Dalai Lama has to be supervised and recognized by the central government in order to achieve legitimacy," Ran said.

Xiong Kunxin, a professor of ethnic studies at the Minzu University of China, told the Global Times he doubts whether the Dalai Lama's successor can stay away from politics when he himself could not after Lobsang Sangay, a Harvard-trained legal scholar born in the eastern Indian town of Darjeeling, was elected leader of the "Tibet government-in-exile" in April last year.

"His frequent visits to senior officials and leaders of foreign countries obviously show that he is still interfering with political affairs," Xiong said.

The Dalai Lama will visit Japan on November 3 and give speeches in Yokohama and Okinawa, according to Kyodo News. He met former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe last year, in his 11th visit to Japan.

The Dalai Lama's frequent visits to foreign politicians also indicate that he is not content with his "semi-retirement position" and is eager to draw others' attention to his political views, Xiong added.