Beijing has lodged an official protest with Tokyo over the Dalai Lama's trip to Japan, which comes amid tense relations between the two nations over the Diaoyu Islands dispute.

The protest comes as China confirmed that representatives of the two sides held talks in Beijing on Sunday and Monday over the dispute.

"The Dalai Lama, under the disguise of religion, is a political exile who has long been engaged in activities to split China," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in response to a question regarding the Dalai Lama's 10-day trip to Japan, which began on Sunday.