Pope, Chinese leader Xi to cross paths in Kazakhstan
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first trip overseas since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will overlap with a visit by Pope Francis to Kazakhstan, although the Vatican says there are no plans for them to meet.
Xi’s state visit Wednesday comes just weeks ahead of an all-important political meeting in China where he is expected to take a third term as he cements his grip on power. The pope is in Kazakhstan until Thursday for a state visit and an interfaith congress of world religious leaders.
Asked during his flight to Kazakhstan about a possible meeting with Xi, the pope said, “I don’t have any news about this. But I am always ready to go to China.”
The two have been in the same vicinity before and not met, including New York for the United nations General Assembly in 2015 and Xi’s visit to Italy in 2019.
The Vatican and China are due to renew their 2018 deal on bishop nominations at the end of this month. A Vatican delegation recently returned from Beijing, and Holy See officials expect the deal to be continued.
Here’s a look at Beijing’s complicated relationship with the Vatican and the conditions that worshippers face in China.
WHAT IS CHINA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE VATICAN?
China does not have diplomatic relations with Vatican, ever since the ruling Communist Party required Roman Catholics in China to sever ties with the Vatican in the 1950s. For decades, people could worship only in churches affiliated with the party-controlled Patriotic Catholic Association.
The Association follows Vatican doctrine and sends theologians to Rome for study sessions, but the ruling party rejects any role for the pope in picking bishops in China or managing churches.
The two sides reached an agreement in 2018 that gave the Holy See the final say over bishops proposed by Beijing, but details have never been released. Francis has said the process involves a dialogue, but that he has the final say.
