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Beijing opposes expanding sanctions

China said yesterday that it opposed expanded UN sanctions against Sudan following reports that the US will unveil tough new moves against Sudan and push for a fresh UN resolution on the conflict in Darfur.

China's representative on African affairs, Liu Guijin (劉貴今), who has been acting as envoy on Darfur, said "Willful sanctions and simply applying pressure are not conducive to the solution of the problem."

"Expanding sanctions can only make the problem more difficult to resolve," Liu told a news conference in Beijing.

"The Darfur issue and issues in eastern Sudan and southern Sudan are caused by poverty and underdevelopment. Only when poverty and underdevelopment are addressed will peace be there in Sudan," Liu said.

"The cooperation between China and Sudan is helpful for the development of Sudan's economy and will fundamentally help Sudan to address the conflicts and wars in Sudan," he said.

He did not answer directly whether China would veto any new UN Security Council resolution targeting Sudan.

Beijing has said it would send 275 military engineers for a UN force to bolster African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. But China, a major customer for Sudan's oil, has also blocked sending UN peacekeepers to Darfur without Khartoum's consent, bringing accusations from human-rights groups that it is abetting widespread bloodshed, even genocide.
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