Dr Reyes noted that the improvements reflect the” major development” between both parties, perhaps as both do not promote formal relationships.
After China’s Communist Party (CCP ) took control and expelled foreign priests, Beijing cut diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951. Otherwise, the Vatican maintains formal ties to Taiwan, one of only a few states doing so.
Mr. Yeo made a point of mentioning that Cardinal Chow, who was in the Vatican in May, had invited Pope Francis to explore Hong Kong. He views the movement as important, aimed at reinforcing the state’s responsibility as a gate between China and the world Catholic area.
Pope Paul VI is the only pope to have traveled to Hong Kong. He stopped for three hours there in 1970, when it was a British settlement, and celebrated mass at Happy Valley racecourse.
The Hong Kong priest would not have issued this proposal on his own, without China’s approval, Mr. Yeo said in an appointment with CNA late last month.” It was an unofficial invitation, but several brow were raised.
MORE THAN MATTERS OF FAITH
According to experts interviewed by CNA, China has taken a favorable position toward enhancing relationships with the Vatican because it aligns with its wider strategic objectives of strengthening its worldwide reputation and preventing adverse representations from the West.
Dr. Reyes from HKU cited the Beijing’s invitation to Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, the priest’s specific minister for peace in Ukraine, in September. The minister also met with Mr Li Hui, China’s special minister for European affairs, marking a “rare and prominent diplomatic sign”.  ,
” Beijing was notably gratified, one might even say chuffed by the Vatican sending a special emissary on Ukraine ( to the country ) … ( as ) this signifies the Holy See’s recognition of China’s potential role in facilitating peace in Ukraine”, he said.
Cardinal Zuppi made visits to Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington in July as part of the Holy See’s efforts to bring Ukraine and Russia to the table of negotiations.
China has resisted calling for a ceasefire and a political solution since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022. This approach, however, has prompted American complaints that Beijing is enabling Russia’s anger.
In July, North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) members convened in Washington, DC, and signed a declaration designating China as a “decisive enabler” of the invasion. They demanded that Beijing stop providing Moscow with “every material and social support,” including the use of dual-use materials for both civil and military purposes.
In reply, China dismissed these statements as “groundless” and asserted that it has “always been a force for peace and security”.
The Vatican’s decision to send a harmony minister to Beijing therefore serves as a counter-narrative to Western reproval, said Dr Reyes.
It does demonstrate how the Vatican is trying to function in a more rational earth. And by logical, one was, by expansion, think of it as a so-called unipolar world in which we live”, he added.
” The US does not seem to understand that the world has changed and that it’s no more a US-dominant earth, that it’s … then multi-civilisational, international.
” I think it’s exciting to me that the Vatican, to some extent, has been operating that means ( with China ).”
Mr. Yeo, Singapore’s foreign affairs minister from 2004 to 2011, asserts that China’s attempts to bolster its understanding and engagement with the West are a part of its wider plan.  ,
Without mentioning the Catholic Church, the participation of bishops, and the Vatican, both for great and for bad, European and American history is unfathomable.
” I believe China’s political relations with the West will ( also hinge ) on its relationship with the Vatican”.
Dr. Michel Chambon, a research fellow with the Asia Research Institute’s faith and globalization group, believes that strengthening relations with the Vatican is in line with China’s desire to become a world power.
“( China ) cannot, for too long, treat the Catholic Church as just an enemy. Only China has formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican, and only North Korea and Afghanistan have diplomatic relations with the Vatican, which makes things extremely unpleasant. What does ( that say ) about China itself”?