KEY POINTS:
China has sought to head off criticisms over its policy towards Darfur by appointing a special envoy to the troubled Sudanese region. It also announced it would send 275 engineers as part of a United Nations effort to bolster the under-resourced African Union (AU) force failing to keep the peace in Darfur.
The UN says some 200,000 people have died and more than 2 million have fled their homes since the Darfur conflict flared in 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government.
In the past week, Amnesty has accused China of supplying arms to Sudan which have been used in Darfur, and more than 100 US congressmen have warned of a backlash against next year's Beijing Olympics if China does not put pressure on Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers.
The decision to appoint a special envoy suggests Sudan is "starting to realise how important this issue is," said Sally Chin, Sudan analyst for International Crisis Group. "Until now, China has played a critical role in supporting Sudan's policies. They have not put more pressure on them in the way other countries have."
China has major economic interests in Sudan as it buys the majority of the country's daily oil output of 350,000 barrels. Beijing has consistently blocked tough UN resolutions on Darfur and has continued to strike economic agreements with Khartoum, ignoring calls for sanctions.
But in recent months, China has gradually shifted its position. It agreed with last November's decision to introduce a hybrid AU/UN force of 20,000 personnel and criticised President Omar al-Bashir in March when he stalled on its implementation. China's assistant foreign minister visited Khartoum last month, telling Bashir to be more "flexible".
Malaysia, whose state oil company Petronas is one of the major economic players in Sudan, has also begun to take a closer interest. The Malaysian foreign minister visited Darfur last month - the first such visit by a Malaysian diplomat.
Regional allies of the Khartoum regime, Libya and Egypt, are also becoming more engaged. Egypt is to open a diplomatic office in Darfur, and Libya has hosted a series of meetings aimed at finding a political solution. In Tripoli two weeks ago, diplomats from the UN, EU, US, AU and Arab League agreed that the AU and UN envoys, Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson, should lead attempts to revitalise the peace process.
China's overriding concern though, is economic. Some analysts have suggested that China's economic interests in Sudan could be endangered by the continued destabilisation in Darfur and the failure of the peace agreement with south Sudan to be fully implemented.
Much of Sudan's oil is in the south. Khartoum and the fledgling administration in the south's capital, Juba, have yet to strike a deal on how the oil revenues are to be distributed. The majority of the oil is sold to China. Should fighting flare once again, oil output is bound to fall.
The diplomatic pressure on China has increased in recent days. Amnesty this week accused China and Russia of supplying weapons to Sudan which were subsequently used in Darfur, in breach of a UN arms embargo. Chinese-made fighter jets are often spotted in Nyala, capital of south Darfur, and many of the Kalashnikovs and rifles used by government-armed Arab militia are also from China.
In the US, an influential grassroots campaign aimed at encouraging the US government to take stronger action in Darfur, has turned its attention on China. Led by calls from actress Mia Farrow, some campaigners have labelled next year's Olympic Games in Beijing, the Genocide Olympics.
The campaign has also enlisted the support of film director, Steven Spielberg, who has been employed by the Beijing Games organisers to produce a film for the event. After being informed of China's position on Darfur, Spielberg wrote to China's Government, urging them to put pressure on Sudan to accept a UN peacekeeping force.
* UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie and actor Brad Pitt have donated US$1 million towards the humanitarian effort helping more than four million people affected by the crisis in Darfur. The donation will go to three key agencies.
- Independent
