BEIJING — A diocese in central China has ordained the country’s first Catholic bishop in three years amid tensions between Beijing and the Vatican and a strained relationship between the Chinese leadership and the Christian religion in general.

The Rev. Joseph Zhang Yinlin was named coadjutor bishop of Anyang in Henan province in a rare recent case of Chinese officials being in alignment with the Roman Catholic leadership in a choice for the position, according to the diocese and Catholic websites based abroad.

Relations between the church and China remain rocky, however, and President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping earlier this year repeated warnings about the dangers of foreign influence overreligion in China.

A continuing campaign to remove exterior crosses and demolish unauthorized churches — both Catholic and Protestant — in Zhejiang province in recent weeks has prompted an unprecedented public protest.