China extends bishops’ appointment pact with Vatican

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China on Tuesday said it had extended by four years a provisional agreement with the Vatican on the appointment of bishops, state media reported.

The two sides “will maintain constructive engagement and dialogue to further improve China-Vatican relations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

The pact was signed in October 2018 and has been extended twice, in 2020 and 2022.

Both China and the Vatican have given positive evaluations on the results of this agreement, Lin said.

China has an estimated 12 million Catholic Christians and the pact allows the two sides to name the bishops in the world's second-largest populated country.