Vatican City ? Pope Benedict XVI sent a veiled message Thursday to China, inviting countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with the Vatican to establish ties soon in a move that could complicate the Holy See’s relations with rival Taiwan.

Benedict didn’t name the countries he was reaching out to, saying only that he appreciated messages and gestures that came after the death of Pope John Paul II and his election as pope. But ambassadors and Cardinal Pio Laghi, a Vatican diplomatic troubleshooter, said Benedict was clearly talking about China.

“It seems he has an invitation, a certain desire to open up … a certain openness to arrive at solutions for conflicts through dialogue,” Laghi told Telepace, a Catholic television station.

Benedict made the comments in a speech in the Apostolic Palace to diplomats of the 174 countries accredited to the Holy See, his first since being elected pope April 19.

China didn’t send any official condolences to the Vatican after John Paul’s death, but a Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed condolences during a news conference with foreign reporters and Premier Wen Jiabao said April 21 that China was willing to build relations with the Vatican if Benedict broke ties with rival Taiwan.