The Chinese Foreign Ministry offered brief condolences over the death of Pope Francis on Tuesday, over a day after the announcement of his passing, crediting him meagerly for “useful” exchanges with Beijing.
The Foreign Ministry did not offer any information on whether it would send a representative or not to the pontiff’s funeral, scheduled to take place on Saturday.
China is one of the world’s most repressive states for Christians. The Christian aid organization Open Doors noted in the 2025 edition of its persecution World Watch List that repression of the practice of Christianity has increased significantly in the past year, as Communist Party officials whisk believers away for “tea” – a euphemism for interrogations – to pressure them out of practicing their faith. Any form of worship is illegal for children and only five religions are legal in the country, all under the strict control of the Party.
The Chinese Catholic Church is one of the five legal religions in China but is not connected or in any way administered through the Vatican. The Communist Party appoints clergy leadership and ensures that the church spreads communist ideology, not Christian belief.
Pope Francis attempted during his tenure as archbishop of Rome to expand dialogue with the Chinese Communist Party and signed a controversial agreement with Beijing in 2018 in which the Vatican would accept the legitimacy of some “bishops” appointed by the atheist Communist Party. The agreement resulted in an expansion of repression of Christians who did not worship under communist control. As of October, at least ten Vatican-approved Chinese Catholic bishops remained imprisoned in China for publicly practicing their faith.
A man reads a Chinese newspaper with coverage of the death of Pope Francis at a news board in Beijing on April 22, 2025. China’s foreign ministry expressed condolences on April 22 following the death of Pope Francis. (JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images)
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun only hinted at the existence of that agreement in his remarks on the pope’s passing on Tuesday.
“China expresses condolences over the passing of Pope Francis. In recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained constructive engagement and conducted useful exchanges,” Guo said. “China stands ready to work with the Vatican for continued improvement of China-Vatican ties.”
“In recent years, China and the Vatican have maintained constructive engagement, conducted useful exchanges, and had extensive communication on international issues,” Guo said, adding a threat to “relevant countries,” referring to Vatican City, to stop recognizing Taiwan as a country. The Vatican remains one of the few states on earth to do so despite Taiwan’s status as a fully sovereign, democratic state with no ties to the government in Beijing. The lack of recognition of Taiwan, including by America, is the result of communist China demanding that countries seeking diplomatic relations with Beijing to adopt China’s false territorial claims over the country.
Guo stated he had “no information” about a Chinese delegation attending the pope’s funeral.
Pope Francis died on Monday, according to Vatican officials, at the age of 88 after a prolonged bout with respiratory illness. The head of the Catholic Church made his final appearance in St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday and received a visit by Vice President JD Vance shortly before his death. The Vatican has begun the extended process at press time of holding a Conclave, the ritual in which a new pope is chosen.
One of Pope Francis’s most controversial policies was his decision to negotiate an agreement with the communist leadership of China to accept some of its false bishops in 2018. An announcement by the Vatican at the time stated that the pope would recognize seven such bishops who had previously been excommunicated for their usurpation of episcopal authority.
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Many Christians in China, attempting to worship in secret to avoid communist propaganda diluting their faith, described themselves in reports at the time as “betrayed” by the agreement.
Cardinal Joseph Zen, a retired bishop of Hong Kong, published an outraged editorial in the New York Times lamenting that Pope Francis was “naturally optimistic about communism” and “being encouraged to be optimistic about the Communists in China by cynics around him who know better.”
“The Vatican’s deal, struck in the name of unifying the Church in China, means the annihilation of the real Church in China,” Cardinal Zen predicted.
Pope Francis on multiple occasions made public comments refusing to condemn China’s human rights atrocities, including against Christians. In 2022, he refused to refer to China, a totalitarian communist state, as “undemocratic.”
“I cannot get on board with calling China undemocratic; I won’t do that because it’s such a complex country,” he asserted. “Understanding China takes a century, and we do not live for a century … In order to understand we have chosen the path of dialogue, open to dialogue.”
“The relationship with China is very respectful, very respectful. I personally have great admiration for the Chinese people,” the pope said in 2023. “The channels are very open – for the appointment of bishops there is a commission that has been working with the Chinese government and the Vatican for a long time.”
