China 'notes' Pope's new year greeting, calls for flexibility

Pope Francis waves as he arrives to attend the first monthly Jubilee audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, January 30, 2016. REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it had "noted" an interview in which Pope Francis sent Lunar New Year greetings to President Xi Jinping, and called on the Vatican to be flexible in creating conditions for better relations.

The Vatican, which has had no formal diplomatic ties with Beijing since shortly after the Communist Party took power in 1949, has been trying to improve ties with China and its state-sanctioned Catholic Church.