The archbishop's three-day trip could lead to a fresh assessment of religious freedoms on the mainland
A visit to Beijing by a leading US Catholic leader has fuelled speculation on the prospects of greater religious freedom in China.
Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, the Catholic Archbishop of Washington, spent three days in Beijing earlier this week on what was ostensibly a private visit.
He became the first cardinal from a western country to visit the mainland since relations between China and the Vatican turned frosty after a dispute over canonisation in October 2000.
Church sources on the mainland noted Cardinal McCarrick's visit to Beijing came after the US Congressional Executive Commission on China held a hearing titled 'Will Religion Flourish under China's New Leadership?'
US President George W. Bush has made religious persecution a leading issue in bilateral relations.