VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday invited countries that don't have diplomatic relations with the Vatican to establish ties soon - a clear reference to China that could complicate the Holy See's relations with rival Taiwan.

Benedict didn't identify the countries he was reaching out to, saying only that he appreciated messages and gestures that came following the death of Pope John Paul II and his election as pope. But 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 to diplomats accredited to the Holy See, his first since being elected pope April 19. He delivered his speech in French - the language of diplomacy - to representatives of the 174 countries with which the Vatican has relations, in a ceremony in the Sala Regia of the Apostolic Palace.

"I'm thinking also about the nations with which the Holy See still hasn't entered into diplomatic relations," Benedict told the ambassadors, many in formal dress with sashes and medals.

He said he appreciated that some of these countries sent messages or otherwise "associated themselves" with the Vatican following the death of John Paul and his election.