ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis said on Friday that China was "a promise and a hope" for the Catholic Church, offering extensive praise for Beijing at the end of a four-nation tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania, and again expressed hope to visit the East Asian country one day. Francis' comments during an in-flight press conference en route home from Singapore came as the Vatican enters into the final weeks of negotiations to renew a 2018 agreement over the contentious issue of bishop nominations. Francis declared himself "happy" with the process, saying both sides were engaging in negotiations in a spirit of good will. "I'm happy with the dialogue with China," he said. "The result is good." "China, for me, is an illusion, in the sense that I want to visit China," he said. "A great country. I admire China. I respect China. It's a country with a millennial culture, with a capacity for dialogue and understanding that goes beyond other systems of democracy." The Vatican has been working for years to try to improve relations with China that were officially severed over seven decades ago when the Communists came to power. The aim is to unite the country's estimated 12 million Catholics, who were divided into an official, state-recognized church and an underground one that stayed loyal to Rome. Relations had long been stymied over China's insistence on its exclusive right to name bishops as a matter of national sovereignty, while the Vatican insisted on the pope's exclusive right to name the successors of the original Apostles. The 2018 deal sought to find a middle ground, although the Vatican has flagged repeated violations, and Rome has acknowledged it was a bad deal but the only one it could get. It was signed at a time when China was tightening controls on all religions, especially Christianity and Islam, which are viewed as foreign imports and potential challengers to Communist authority. The Holy See under Francis has gone out of its way to extend overtures to China. But its position has drawn criticism, especially from American conservatives, who have accused the Vatican of selling out the faithful who have been forced underground. Francis, nevertheless, was upbeat and seemed grateful for the opportunity to speak about China on his return from Asia, a region where Beijing wields so much influence. "I think China is a promise and a hope for the church," he added.