Evangelist Franklin Graham visits China ahead of Olympics

Graham, whose mother was born in China where her father worked as a physician, said he had seen improvements in religious freedoms in the 20 years since he had been coming to the country, but said Christians in China must obey the law as they work with authorities to "resolve these areas of misunderstanding or where there is tension."

"I think the government of China is recognizing that more and more and are seeing the value of a personal faith that people can have and so I'm here to encourage that," Graham said.

"I'm not here to condemn, I'm here to work with them and help to build better bridges of understanding between Christians and government," he said.

On Sunday, Graham was due to address congregants at the 6,000-seat Chong-Yi Church -China's largest.

Graham said he sympathized with the victims of deadly rioting in Tibet last month and said he was encouraged by new talks between Beijing and Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader, the Dalai Lama.

"Dialogue is always the best approach," Graham said.