Party and pontiff

IN LATE September Pope Francis and President Xi Jinping happened to visit America at the same time. The coincidence was unremarkable. Both men were there for the annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York. But it afforded Chinese officials a glimpse into something they may not have fully understood: the international stature and popular appeal of the pope. American media covered his every move—each appearance before an adoring crowd, and each ride he took in his humble little Fiat—while paying much less attention to Mr Xi (whose crowds included far fewer supporters and many more protesters than the pope’s).

Chinese officials were “shocked and flabbergasted” by the difference in the responses to the two leaders’ visits, says a Vatican analyst in Beijing. “They thought Xi Jinping was the emperor, the most important guy, and then along came this man in white to overshadow him.” Some observers believe that officials’ awakening to the pope’s popularity may help encourage them to improve relations with the Vatican after decades of diplomatic estrangement. China craves the admiration of great powers. The Vatican may be puny in size, but in soft power it is hard to match.