"You ask me if I want to go to China? Certainly, even tomorrow," he told reporters on board the papal plane as he returned from a visit to South Korea.
"But the church asks for the freedom to do its job in China, there is no other condition," he said.
During the five-day visit to the divided Korean peninsula -- his first to Asia -- the pope called for countries like China and Vietnam that do not have formal ties with the Vatican to accept a "dialogue" with Rome, insisting that Catholics did not view Asia with the mentality of "conquerors".