Paris: Western nations are reluctant to take action against China's crackdown on protests in Tibet, fearing Beijing's growing diplomatic clout and for their place in its huge consumer market, experts say.

The main reaction in Europe and America has been to express concern over the reported deaths in the Himalayan region and call for restraint by China.

No government has even hinted at a boycott of the Beijing Olympics in August.

The European Commission said it was worried about the violence but insisted that a boycott would not be appropriate.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged China to engage in a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

"The West can do very little because China sees this as an internal affair. And anyone who is ready to get involved in its internal affairs must be ready for the political and economic consequences," said Eberhard Sandchneider, a researcher at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). "The only way to have influence is to have a constructive dialogue with the Chinese government to try to improve the situation," Sandchneider told AFP.

But he warned that there is little room for maneuver and that the prospects for a real dialogue were "next to zero".

Europe and America have dialouges with Beijing on human rights, but they are also rivals for the huge contracts on offer in China, according to Shaun Roselin, professor of politics and international studies at the University of Warwick in Britain.

Source : PTI