(Reuters. By Mei Mei Chu and Ben Blanchard).
BEIJING/TAIPEI, (Reuters) – China is willing to work with the Vatican to improve ties, a Chinese foreign ministry official said on Wednesday following remarks from the Holy See’s top diplomat that it wanted to open an office in Beijing. Relations between the Vatican and China’s Communist Party leadership have historically been fraught and it does not have diplomatic relations with Beijing, only Taiwan. Indeed, it is one of only a dozen countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, which has watched nervously as Pope Francis seeks to improve ties with China.
The Vatican would like to establish a permanent office in China, its top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said on Tuesday, in what would be a significant upgrade of relations. “We are willing to work together with the Vatican to promote the continuous improvement of China-Vatican relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing. He added that the two sides have maintained “deep communication on bilateral relations and international hot issues.”