Beijing hopes for 'continuous improvement' of Vatican ties after Pope's deputy seeks 'stable presence in China'

Beijing has expressed hopes of a "continuous improvement" of ties with the Vatican, a day after the Holy See said it hoped to set up a permanent office in mainland China, in developments watched closely by Taiwan.

The Vatican is among the dozen governments, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean, that still maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei.

"We are willing to work together with the Vatican to promote the continuous improvement of China-Vatican relations," Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

This came a day after Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's top diplomat, hosted Shanghai Bishop Joseph Shen Bin for a high-profile commemoration of the Concilium Sinense, a landmark meeting in Shanghai a century ago that affirmed the need for foreign missionaries in China to give way to local church leaders.

The concilium, the first and only Council of the Chinese Catholic Church, was held in Shanghai in May and June 1924.

The cardinal, who is a deputy to Pope Francis, expressed his hope of having "a stable presence in China" and "renewing and also developing" a provisional agreement with Beijing on the appointment of bishops, according to the Vatican's news portal.

The twice-renewed deal was first struck in 2018 and is set to expire again in October. The terms have never been made public.

"In recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained contact, communicated in depth on bilateral relations and international hot topics, and continuously enhanced understanding and mutual trust," Wang at the foreign ministry added.

Taiwan has lost 10 diplomatic allies to Beijing since 2016, the latest being the Pacific island of Nauru in January, and is watching the signs of its warming Vatican ties with concern.

The Vatican City, with a population of just under 800, is the only European state that has official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a part of China, to be reunited by force if necessary.

Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Taipei's foreign ministry on Wednesday accused Beijing of "clamping down on religious freedom and repeatedly violating" its agreement with the Holy See, even as the details remained secret.

Shen, a keynote speaker at the conference, was appointed bishop of Shanghai last year by Chinese authorities without consultation with the Vatican. Pope Francis approved the move retroactively, and the Vatican defended his decision as an imperfect means to have some form of dialogue with the authorities for the good of all Chinese Catholics.

The Pope sent a video message to Tuesday's event, calling the 100th anniversary "a precious occasion for many reasons".

"The Lord in China has safeguarded the faith of the people of God along the way," he said. "And the faith of God's people has been the compass that has shown the way throughout this time, before and after the Council of Shanghai, until today."

The Pope also revisited the historic conditions that led to the Concilium Sinense. Chinese-born priests and bishops were barred from leading dioceses until 1924, when a consensus was reached that the Church in China should have "a Chinese face".

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.