Chinese President to visit Sudan in February

Jan 15, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Chinese President Hu Jintao will visit Sudan in the beginning February in the context of the distinguished relations between the two countries, the Sudanese government announced Monday.

The spokesperson of the Sudanese foreign ministry, Ambassador Ali Al-Sadik, said in a press statement that the visit of the Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister for Africa, Zhai Jun, to the country comes in the framework of preparations for the visit of the Chinese President.

The Sudanese president met with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing during the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, which was held in the Chinese capital in November 2006.

This will be the first visit by a Chinese president to Sudan.

China has objected any UN sanctions against the Sudanese government over the Darfur crisis. Human rights activists say China’s support to Khartoum is the main cause for the Sudanese opposition to the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur.

Critics, also, have said China’s arms exports to Darfur have helped fuel the conflict. Beijing has defended its expanding relations with Sudan as “mutually beneficial,” and that its dealings with the African nation have helped to improve that country’s human rights record.

(ST)