Sky News host Andrew Bolt says “we are at a frightening moment in history” as communist China is about to sign a new deal that will allow the dictatorship to “tighten its grip”.

Mr Bolt said this week American secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Rome “to plead with the Pope to not sign this shameful new deal” with communist China.

The Pope is preparing to extend a 2018 deal with the Chinese government, one which was set to expire in October. As part of the deal, China is given input and “control over who may be a bishop in the Catholic Church in China," Mr Bolt said. “Under this deal means it's the effectively China, not the Vatican, that appoints Catholic bishops,” Mr Bolt said.

“Bishops it thinks are loyal to this brutal communist regime that is right now persecuting Christians who refuse to join its official churches,” he said.

“It seems this dictatorship has the Pope on a string”.