Vatican City - China's state Philharmonic Orchestra was scheduled later Wednesday to perform for Pope Benedict XVI in a concert which suggests a further easing of tensions between the Vatican and Beijing. The orchestra, China's leading musical ensemble, is currently on a European tour with the stop-over at the Vatican - which does not have diplomatic relations with Beijing - described as "historic" by Chinese officials.
Benedict planned to attend the late afternoon concert which would feature Mozart's "Requiem," as well as several Chinese folk songs, the Vatican said.
Communist China cut ties with the Vatican in the early 1950s, a move that drove underground Catholics who remained loyal to Rome and who refused to join the state-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Association.
Benedict was seen to break new ground in relations with Beijing when in June 2007 he sent a letter to Chinese Catholics expressing admiration for the Chinese people, but also the need for greater religious freedom in China.
The pontiff also reiterated his concern with Beijing's appointment of bishops and other officials in Catholic Patriotic Association without consulting the Vatican.
Since then relations appear to have improved with the Vatican saying it had approved in September two state-appointed bishops.
The state-sanctioned church numbers some 5 million members while an estimated 8 million Chinese belong to clandestine Catholic communities.
