China willing to talk to Vatican about normalizing ties

BEIJING, Jan. 23 Kyodo

China is willing to negotiate with the Vatican in order to improve relations between the two sides, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular press briefing that Beijing is working hard to normalize ties with the Holy See, which were cut in 1949.

''We hope the Vatican is able to seriously consider all the policies relating to freedom of belief introduced by the Chinese government and the developments made by the Chinese catholic church,'' Liu said.

Relations between the two sides have rarely been easy and, although they have both talked about restoring relations, there are two main stumbling blocks.

Liu said Beijing wants the Vatican to sever its diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province, and refrain from interfering in its internal affairs. This primarily means China wants the right to nominate its own bishops.

The Vatican wrapped up over the weekend a meeting specifically held to discuss its relationship with China, and concluded to set up a permanent commission to handle China affairs.

''What emerged was the will to continue along the path of respectful and constructive dialogue with the governing authorities in order to overcome the misunderstandings of the past,'' said a church statement released Monday.

But, in an indication of the challenges the lie ahead to establish diplomatic ties, the church statement said the resolution of problems should be based on the ''fundamental principles of the Church's divine constitution and religious freedom.''

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