The Vatican and China do not maintain diplomatic relations, but since becoming head of the Holy See in 2013 Pope Francis has tried to mend ties with Beijing in the hope of reconnecting with Catholics in China.
Beijing (AFP) - A Vatican official visiting Beijing says the pontiff "loves China" -- a communist country which has yet to establish official diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
"Pope Francis loves China and loves the people of China, its history and population," Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, a chancellor of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences, said Thursday, according to the state-run Global Times.
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