Africa News
China starts new mediation over Darfur, rejects "unbridled pressue"
Feb 19, 2008, 12:13 GMT
Beijing - The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Wednesday announced that it will send special envoy Liu Guijin on a fourth official visit to Sudan concerning the crisis in the African country's Darfur region.
The move follows the withdrawal of Hollywood film director Steven Spielberg as artistic advisor for the Olympic Games out of protest against what he considered China's lack of efforts on Darfur.
Because of its close economic and political relations with the regime in Khartoum, China has been under international pressure to use its influence to move the Sudanese government toward cooperation in the Darfur crisis.
China purchases a great amount of Sudanese oil exports.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao however said that 'to avoid complicating the situation, we should not use unbridled pressure.'
The envoy Liu Guijin is to travel to London Thursday to enter into talks with the British government, before he arrives Sunday in Sudan.
After initial misgivings, Beijing has since 2007 supported international efforts to solve the refugee crisis in Darfur and has taken part in a engineering corps and peace troops.
The Darfur conflict will soon enter its fourth year.
Sudan is charged with arming Arab militias, known as janjaweed, to crush a 2003 rebellion by African farmers who claimed that Darfur remained undeveloped due to neglect by Sudan's powerful central government.
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Older Talkback
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the chinese are gonna have to figure out sooner or later that is trade with another country is worth losing then trade with sudan if the other country objects to the sudanese goverment dafur policy. Say if Canada decides, enough is enough, if you dont apply more pressure on the Sudanese goverment to deal with dafur problem they will withdraw from the Olympics. Of the Chinese will threaten trade sanctions...LOL. Canada says so what. Canada can survive quiet well with trade with china, our economy wont fail. If the Chinese think that trade with Canada is less valueable then with the Sudanese goverment...so be it. This should apply to a few other countries that China deals with. Untill China pulls up to the plate and adopts a more proactive policy towards wayward regimes, they will start to feel the pressure, especially from consumers.
I have re-read your post over and over. What are you saying? I think you are on the correct side of things. Simple question - Tell me Chineese good or bad?
Wise man once said - When typing a post on M&C smoking crack, drinking gin, or sniffing glue does not help ones writting skills.
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SP4: Where's the Outrage?Feb 19th, 2008 - 15:20:17
China is the biggest financial supporter of Darfur.
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