The Vatican could send a delegation to China by the end of the month, Beijing's state-run media said Tuesday, with the visit potentially paving the way for a historic agreement on the appointment of bishops. Beijing and the Vatican severed ties in 1951, two years after the Communist party seized power in China. The decades-long standoff has split China's roughly 12 million Catholics between those who follow government-approved prelates and those in "underground" pro-Rome churches.

Negotiations have been underway for several years between the two sides on the thorny question of the appointment of bishops, some of whom have been appointed by the Chinese authorities without being recognised by Rome. But the Global Times tabloid reported there are no longer "disputes over issues of principle" between Beijing and the Holy See. The Vatican delegation will visit in late September, it added, citing an unidentified source. "If the meeting goes well, an agreement could be signed", the newspaper said.