Mr. Hao’s remarks were echoed on Thursday by Nianzha, a senior monk at Tashilhunpo Monastery here in Shigatse. The monastery is the seat of power of the Panchen Lama, the second-ranking lama of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, behind the Dalai Lama. Nianzha is the director of the monastery committee that deals with the government, and he told the journalists that the Chinese government had properly appointed an 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 through the same process that is expected to be used to find the next Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader.

The reincarnation of the Panchen Lama “was searched, identified and confirmed in strict accordance with the religious rituals and historical conventions,” said Nianzha, who like many Tibetans goes by one name.

The Tibetan government-in-exile in India says the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama is a fraud. It says the real one, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who was endorsed by the Dalai Lama, was abducted with his family in 1995 by the Chinese government and has not been seen since. He was 6 at the time and is called “the world’s youngest political prisoner” by Tibet advocacy groups.

Like the Panchen Lama dispute, the selection of a reincarnation of the Dalai Lama by the Chinese would create a scenario of dueling Dalai Lamas, because the 14th Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles in India are already discussing how they will choose the next Dalai Lama. The 14th Dalai Lama turns 75 this month and has had bouts of ill health, including recent problems with his eyesight, though he still keeps a brisk travel schedule around the globe. He has said all options are open for selecting his reincarnation.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party, which is officially atheist, insists that religious traditions be followed. Mr. Hao said that there were two crucial steps in the process: the name of the reincarnated lama must be chosen from several rods with names put into a ceremonial vessel, the Golden Urn, and the child selected from that must be approved by the central government. In 2007, the Chinese government quietly passed a law that said all “living Buddhas” must be approved by Beijing.