International pressure was on China to try its hand at peace diplomacy yesterday as Chinese President Hu Jintao (
During his two-day visit to Khartoum, Hu was expected to hold talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on the situation in the western region of Darfur, where a conflict between the government and rebels has been raging unabated.
In a statement handed out to reporters at Khartoum airport, Hu said the visit was "expected to cement the friendship and expand cooperation between China and Sudan."
China's energy-hungry economy -- the fourth-largest in the world -- is badly in need of Sudan and other African countries' resources.
"I believe this visit will not only boost bilateral ties, but also peace and stability in this region," Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun (
No other country has more clout over the Khartoum government than China, which absorbs 60 percent of Sudan's total oil output and has repeatedly used its UN Security Council veto power to block further sanctions on the regime.
Led by Washington, the international community has been pressing Khartoum to accept the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur, where African Union troops have failed to quell the bloodshed.
But Beshir has consistently rejected such a move, accusing the UN and Western powers of seeking to invade his country and plunder its resources.
"If the Chinese put some pressure on Khartoum, it might have some potential," said the Save Darfur coalition's Larry Rossin, who recently traveled to Khartoum with US envoy Bill Richardson.
"It is encouraging that the Chinese government has been trying to have a very cooperative partnership and relationship with all African countries," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was quoted by news agency Xinhua as saying.
China has had deep economic ties with Sudan since the 1990s, when other foreign companies pulled out because of the raging north-south civil war.
Trade deals are expected to be signed during Hu's visit, further boosting bilateral trade that reached US$2.9 billion in the first 11 months of last year.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the