China plans to work with the Holy See on improving relations in response to remarks from Pope Francis on Sunday that he would like to visit the country if invited.



"China's position on its relationship with the Vatican is consistent and clear. The Chinese side is sincere about improving relations with the Vatican and has made a lot of efforts to that end," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily briefing on Monday.



Asked whether China was planning to invite Pope Francis for a visit, Hua replied, "There is a smooth and effective line of communication between the two sides. We would like to work with the Vatican to strive for new progress in constructive dialogues and improvement in relations between the two sides."



In an interview with Spanish media El Pais, Pope Francis said that he would like to visit China "as soon as they send me an invitation."



"In China, the churches are packed. In China they can worship freely," he noted.



According to Pope Francis, a committee has been working for years between China and the Holy See and the two sides meet every three months.



"The recent expressions of China and the Holy See showed that there have been some satisfactions in the talks, and both sides are willing to continue them," Wang Meixiu, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.



"But the actual process of the negotiation between China and the Holy See is hard to predict," Yan Kejia, director of the Institute of Religious Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday.



Yan said there are some issues between the two sides that still need to be solved, such as bishop appointment, the recognition of the development of the Chinese Catholic Church after 1949, as well as self-selection and self-ordination of bishops in China.



"At least China and the Vatican should come into agreement about the appointment of new bishops in the future first, so that on this issue there would be no more new conflicts which would damage the image of China," Wang noted.



China and the Vatican severed diplomatic relations in 1951.



Pope Francis has tried to improve relations with Beijing in the hope of reconnecting with Catholics in China.



Chinese and Vatican officials have met at least four times since January 2016 over the issue of the appointment of bishops, AFP reported.



"Sino-Vatican relations have been developing since General Secretary Xi Jinping and Pope Francis came into power in 2012 and 2013, as the two leaders have been seeking solutions of some issues," Wang said.



Meanwhile, since Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen did not recognize the 1992 Consensus of the one-China principle, the Chinese mainland would also like to contain Taiwan by developing relations with the Vatican, which has "diplomatic" relations with Taiwan, according to Wang.