British FM to discuss Sudan with Chinese officials

February 25, 2008 (HONG KONG) — British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, said Monday he would discuss Sudan with his Chinese counterparts during his first official visit to the country this week.

Miliband told reporters in Hong Kong he would discuss the issue of Sudan with his Chinese counterparts, but added that Beijing alone shouldn’t be held responsible for trying to end the conflict there.

China, a major buyer of Sudan’s oil and supplier of weapons to the African nation, has been criticized for not doing enough to pressure the Sudanese government to end violence in the troubled Darfur region.

Hollywood director Steven Spielberg recently pulled out as an artistic adviser for the Beijing Olympics due to China’s link to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

Some politicians and activists have called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics in August to protest at China’s human rights record or its stance on Darfur.

But Miliband said the U.K. didn’t support a boycott of the Games.

“I do not support an Olympic boycott. I do support engagement with China on the need to work together internationally to nurture the potential gains of globalisation,” Miliband said on his blog.

Miliband’s trip follows a visit to China last month by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Britain wants to strengthen its ties with China, eyeing its potential as an economic superpower and its rising global influence.

(ST)

Infomation fro this report provided by AP and Reuters