Anthony Li Du'an, 79, archbishop of Xi'an, China

SHANGHAI -- Archbishop Anthony Li Du'an, an important figure in China's divided Catholic Church, died yesterday of liver cancer, an official with China's state-approved church said. He was 79.

Archbishop Li, head of the diocese of the western city of Xi'an, played a major role in the church's rebirth following severe persecution during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.

He was also a strong advocate of reconciliation between the Vatican and China's officially approved church, which have no formal ties and have repeatedly feuded over the appointment of bishops and other issues.

Archbishop Li's death ``is a loss to the Xi'an religious district and is also a loss for the Chinese religious association," said Liu Bainian, secretary-general of the China Patriotic Catholic Association.

Archbishop Li walked a narrow line between fidelity to Rome and the demands of the Catholic association controlled by Liu, a layman responsible for enforcing strict Communist Party controls over the church.

While a member of the state-sanctioned church, Archbishop Li was also ``a supporter and friend of pontiffs," the Vatican-affiliated AsiaNews agency reported.

China has about 16 million Catholics -- four times more than Ireland -- but priests and congregants in the underground churches are frequently harassed and sometimes sent to labor camps.

Even relations between authorities and the officially backed church can be tense.

Archbishop Li was one of four Chinese bishops invited to a major conference at the Vatican last fall by Pope Benedict XVI. All were barred by China from attending.

Under Archbishop Li's leadership, the Xi'an Diocese grew to 60 parishes with 20,000 faithful and had achieved fiscal independence.