Expressing condolences over the loss of Pope John Paul II on Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said that China is willing to improve relations with the Vatican on the condition that it terminates "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan.

He said that the Vatican must also refrain from interfering in China's internal affairs, including any intervention under the pretext of religious affairs.

China hopes that the Vatican, under the leadership of a new pope, will create favorable conditions for the development of China-Vatican relations, Liu said.

Pope John Paul II once apologized for the wrongs against the Chinese people committed by some Catholic missionaries during the colonial period. The pontiff also stated that the Vatican's religious ties with Chinese Catholics should not tamper with the unity of the Chinese nation or impair China's independence and sovereignty in any way.

John Paul was born Karol Wojtyla on May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland. He was educated at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and at the Angelicum in Rome.

He was ordained as a priest in 1946, became titular bishop in 1958, and later served as vicar-general, vicar and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Krakow.

Pope Paul VI appointed him as a cardinal in 1967. In October 1978, he was elected as the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, succeeding John Paul I.

(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2005)