The death of Pope Francis highlights the view of Beijing by Holy See, Vatican

While the world leaders send their condolences to the Catholics and the Vatican following the death of Pope Francis, we were significantly silent: Chinese President Xi Jinping.

While Beijing has long resisted official ties with the Holy See, the Chinese government had not paid tribute either on Tuesday evening.

“We express our condolences on the death of Pope Francis,” said Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry at a regular press conference.

“In recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained constructive contact and have engaged in positive exchanges.

“China is ready to work with the Vatican to continue to improve bilateral relations.”

When asked if China would send an official representative to the Pope's funeral, the spokesperson said she had no information to provide.

During this papacy, Francis often said that he was ready to visit China, calling the country a place he admired.

But this trip has never occurred and with its death, the dream of a papal visit to Chinese soil remains dissatisfied.

Despite decades of diplomatic openings, no pope has ever been authorized to enter continental China.

The efforts to build a bridge between the Vatican and Beijing have long been complicated by political sensitivities and a story of distrust, with tensions dating back to the first years of the Communist regime.

Beijing's broken links with the Vatican

The diplomatic ties between Beijing and the Holy See were cut in 1951, only two years after the Foundation of the People's Republic of China.

“At the time, there were about 3 million Catholics in China,” said Zhang Tan, a former Religious Affairs Administration official in the province of Guizhou in the 80s.

“The Chinese government has expelled the Vatican official representative, effectively reducing diplomatic relations.”

The rupture occurred in the midst of increasing tensions on the authority of the Vatican in China, while the Communists began to assert the control of religious practice through an administrative system managed by the State.

Mr. Zhang said that Catholicism has traditionally followed a conservative and regular path, focused on the maintenance of universal values, a position that the Communist Party considered with suspicion.

But Francis was seen differently in Beijing.

Unlike his predecessors John Paul II and Benoît XVI, he came from the world South and brought with him a vision of the world which diverged from the traditional Vatican line.

“He was not from the Western world,” said Zhang.

“It was considered a real opportunity for the Chinese government. It was then that they have signed a secret agreement to date, nobody knows what there is.”

The Vaticchina agreement, signed for the first time in 2018 and renewed quietly in 2024, gives Beijing a role in the appointment of bishops a controversial arrangement which remains confidential between the two parties.

While the two governments presented him as a diplomatic stage, Mr. Zhang said that the agreement had a significant cost.

“There are many underground Catholic churches and bishops in China that have been essentially betrayed,” he said.

“Under Chinese law, they no longer have legitimacy. Those named by Beijing do it.”

Zhang said the arrangement reflected how the Chinese government considers any religion.

“Whether it's Catholicism or Christianity, the state requires [that people] Love the country and love religion, with patriotism first, “he said.

“It has nothing to do with the Bible. The Bible teaches love to love the God and to love others and not to patriotism.”

There is Two branches of the Catholic Church in China: Official Churches which joined the Catholic Patriotic Association controlled by the State and the underground churches faithful to the Vatican.

Taiwan links to Saint-Siège

Beijing also refuses to recognize the diplomatic relationship of the Vatican with Taiwan.

Taiwan is a question of foreign policy policy for China Brejing has never recognized the government of Taiwan and considers the island as a province of separation.

The Holy See is the only state in Europe which maintains formal diplomatic links with Taipei.

It is also the most important diplomatic partner in Taiwan on the world scene, a relationship of the relationship with the challenge of its “single director”.

After the Pope's death, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-Te published a statement.

“My most sincere condolences on behalf of Taiwan's people to the Catholic community and everyone crying for the death of His Holiness, Pope Francis,” said Dr. Lai.

Taipei has also confirmed that he would send senior officials as special, to Francis funeral, reaffirming his long-standing diplomatic relationship with the Holy See.

However, China would “meditate” on which government officials send to the funeral, said Michel Chambon, research researcher with the initiative for the study of Asian Catholics at the National University of Singapore.

“It is because there is no formal diplomatic relationship. I suppose they do not want to let the seat empty or have it filled by the Republic of China, Taiwan,” said Dr. Chambon.

He noted that Beijing's response to the death of the Pope is also carefully weighed by a geopolitical lens, in particular in the context of the rise in tensions with Washington.

“Currently, one of the main challenges of China is its commitment to the United States,” he said.

“Chinese politics towards the Catholic Church will be supervised in favor of this challenge.”

Dr. Chambon explained that the Holy See and China could be “potential partners” when it comes to meeting global political challenges, in particular at a time when China's relations with the United States had set out for the renewed trade war.

With around 10 million Catholics in China, cooperation between Beijing and the Vatican was crucial, said Dr. Chambon, adding that Francis had “reset” how the two entities were committed to each other.

What is the next step?

With the Pope's death, questions go to the future of China's relationships with the Vatican.

The next pontiff will inherit the 2018 agreement on the nominations of bishop that attracted praise and criticism.

Mr. Zhang said that he was uncertain if the next pope would maintain the current approach of China or put pressure for a renegotiation of the agreement.

Beijing, too, faces a balancing act.

While seeking greater world legitimacy and a soft power, Beijing intensified its repressions on religious practice, maintaining close control over all forms of worship and looking at a foreign religious influence with a deep suspicion.

An analyst said that the Communist Party under Mr. XI had “no interest” to get closer to the Vatican.

“It has become clear that the agreement since 2018 has benefited the CPC enormously while the Vatican has won very little, or even nothing,” said Fenggang Yang, the Center on Religion and the Global East at Purdue University.

ABC / Reuters