BEIJING — Relations between the Vatican and Beijing hit a fresh low yesterday when the state-sponsored Catholic Church in China said it had appointed a new bishop without the pope’s approval.

Wang Renlei will be consecrated auxiliary bishop of Xuzhou tomorrow, even though China and the Vatican are supposed to be engaged in negotiations over mutual recognition that would involve making joint appointments.

Despite calls by both sides for relations to be renewed between the Holy See and Beijing, discussions have ground to a halt amid mutual recriminations.

The lay deputy head and main power behind the China Patriotic Catholic Association, Liu Bainian, said the election of the new bishop was “legal and valid.” “We cannot wait until China and the Vatican establish relations to select a bishop,” he said.

Ties were cut in 1951, two years after the Communist Party came to power in China. A Catholic Web site said Vatican officials were dismayed by the news, regarding it as a “fatal blow” to further dialogue.

The Rev. Wang’s is the third such appointment this year, a development which has surprised many observers who had been optimistic about a possible improvement in Vatican-China relations after the death of Pope John Paul II. His role in the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe had made him a figure of distrust in Beijing.

But Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to elevate Bishop Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, an outspoken critic of the Communist Party, to cardinal, and the consecration of the two previous bishops by the state church in April have seen an effective end to negotiations.