China's official Catholic Church is still negotiating with the Vatican on whether they will send four bishops to the Synod in Rome said Ye Xiaowen, director of the State Bureau of Religious Affairs according to Asia News.

Earlier in the week, a representative from the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), Chairman Liu Bainian criticized the Vatican for releasing the invitation without consulting Beijing.

But on Thursday, after a religious ceremony in Hong Kong, Ye announced that the Pope's invitation was a "friendly gesture," and that the matter "is still in the negotiating process," reported Asia News.

Xian Archbishop Li Duan, Shanghai Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian, Qiqihar Bishop Wei Jingyi and Fengxiang Bishop Li Jingfeng were the four bishops that were invited.

Others who were invited include—Hong Kong Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kuin and Taiwanese Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-his.

When Ye was asked about the situation in Taiwan and whether they will have any representatives attending the Synod. He commented that Beijing did not want to see "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" at the international conference in Rome.

But, "it is their own business if Taiwanese bishops join the synod….They have the right to go," he told Asia News.