“It will be set up because we had a good experience of working together in handling problems related to China,” Cardinal Joseph Zen was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

“It will definitely continue in similar fashion,” he said after a two-day, high-level meeting with the Vatican to review its China policy. Details of the new inter departmental commission have yet to be announced.

In an editorial, the Post hailed the move as a “step forward” in efforts to bring about better relations between both sides, although the Vatican faced a tough task ahead. “At the heart of the problem is Beijing’s assertion of a right to determine what goes on within its national borders,” the Post said. “China, like every other nation, jealously guards that right.

“But the grip must be loosened if Catholics are to be able to properly follow their religion,” the paper said, adding China could enhance its role on the world stage by doing so, with the 2008 Beijing Olympics approaching.

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