The U.S. and the international community have sought to secure the
cooperation of China to use its political, economic and diplomatic
influence on the government of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to end
the conflict in Darfur, which has resulted in the deaths of as many as
400,000 people and an estimated 2.5 million persons displaced to
refugee camps.  China's relationship with Sudan includes close and
comprehensive bilateral economic, political and military ties, as well
as diplomatic support in multilateral institutions such as the United
Nations.

Economic Ties

   * Oil:  China is the world's largest player in Sudan's oil industry,
with major roles in the development, extraction, and acquisition of
Sudan's oil.  Oil accounts for 70% of Sudan's total global exports
($5.25 billion in 2006).  Sudan's oil exports account for 7% of China's
total oil imports.  An ex-Minister of Finance for Sudan has stated that
70% of Sudan's oil profits help to fund the government's military.

   * Foreign investment:  China is the largest foreign investor in
Sudan.  Chinese firms are active in several energy-related sectors of
Sudan's economy, including construction of oil pipelines, electricity
and hydropower facilities.  China's National Petroleum Company is the
largest stakeholder in Sudan's largest energy consortium, the Greater
Nile Petroleum Operating Company.

   * Trade:  China is Sudan's largest trading partner in the world -
purchasing 71% of Sudan's global exports, and providing 21% of its
global imports.  Sudan, in turn, is China's third largest trading
partner in Africa.  Sudan accounts for 13% of China's total trade with
Africa.

   * Aid:  China offers significant economic aid to Sudan.  During
President Hu's visit to Khartoum this February China agreed to write
off $80 million in Sudanese public debt and to provide an
interest-free, unconditional loan of $13 million for infrastructure
projects, including a new presidential palace.  This new economic aid
substantially exceeded a new pledge of $5.2 million in humanitarian
assistance for Darfur.

Political Relations

   * Bilateral ties:  There is an active bilateral relationship between
Beijing and Khartoum, including frequent high-level government visits
and missions.  President Hu Jintao of China visited Sudan in February
2007.  China emphasizes that its economic ties and assistance to Sudan
are not conditioned on that country's human rights or political
behavior.  China has adopted a policy of "non-interference" in Sudanese
domestic issues.

   * Multilateral institutions:  China has been the leading supporter
of Sudan at the United Nations, and the major impediment to strong UN
Security Council action against the government of Sudan for its role in
the mass killing and genocide in Darfur.  China has succeeded in
watering down or weakening several Security Council resolutions related
to Darfur, including Resolution 1706, which authorized a robust
peacekeeping force of 22,500 UN troops to protect civilians; China
insisted this resolution be deployed only "with the consent" of Sudan.
China has also prevented resolutions that would impose multilateral
economic and diplomatic sanctions, and resisted efforts to sanction
Sudanese officials charged with war crimes.

   * Recent Darfur peace efforts: Beijing played a role in negotiating
the November 2006 Addis Agreement, in which Sudan agreed to a
UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force. China has publicly, and
reportedly privately, expressed displeasure at President al-Bashir's
subsequent reversal of this commitment.  In recent weeks, China has
pushed Sudan harder to live up to this agreement; this perhaps had an
influence on Sudan and its decision to reaffirm its commitment to Phase
II of the agreement.  China also just announced it will send 275
military engineers to Sudan to help implement the agreement.

     These and other steps suggest that China has begun to play a
modestly more constructive role in ending the genocide as international
pressure has mounted.  China's support of the key feature of the
November 2006 agreement ("Phase III," the large-scale introduction of
additional peacekeepers into Darfur), remains ambiguous, however.
Further, even this year, China has continued to strengthen its military
and economic ties to Sudan.

Military Cooperation

   * Arms sales:  China has sold arms and weapons to Sudan since the
1990s, including an estimated $100 million in fighter aircraft and
troop transport helicopters.  Beijing defends its military sales to
Khartoum as legal.  UN and human rights organizations have reported
sightings of Chinese-made small arms weapons, military trucks, and
other war materiel being used by Sudanese government forces, and their
janjaweed militia, in Darfur.

   * Weapons factories:  China helped establish three weapons
manufacturing facilities in Sudan, including one that assembles T-55
tanks.

   * Defense cooperation:  China maintains a defense relationship with
Sudan, despite a UN-imposed arms embargo against the country which has
been in place for Darfur since 2005.  In April 2007, China's Defense
Minister Cao received Sudan's armed forces Chief of Staff in Beijing in
a visit that appears to have strengthened bilateral military ties.  In
that meeting, the Chinese media reported that China's Minister of
Defense told the Sudanese official that China was "willing to further
develop cooperation between the two militaries in every sphere."

What China Can Do

Given its economic, political and military influence in Sudan, China is
beginning to be targeted by activists and media in the international
community for its open support of the Sudanese government.  Generally,
China is well-positioned to use its leverage on the Sudanese government
to ensure that peace and security is established in Darfur.   Among the
specific actions China should take to influence Sudan's behavior and
cooperation with the international community are:

   * Acknowledge publicly and condemn the mass killings, torture, rape
and displacement in Darfur

   * Affirm, in line with a vast body of international assessment, that
the Sudanese government bears primary responsibility for the conflict in
Darfur, even as it notes that other actors also bear responsibility.

   * Call for the Sudanese government and other actors to participate
in a sustainable peace process to end the conflict, and contribute its
own diplomatic offices to facilitate this.

   * State that President al-Bashir's continued obstruction of
deployment of UN peace keepers is unacceptable, and will contribute to
Sudan's increased isolation in the international community.  Compel
Sudan to accept these peace keepers.

   * Signal that it will not block, and indeed will support, the draft
resolution shortly to be discussed in the UN Security Council that
would mandate targeted sanctions against Sudan.

   * Inform the Sudanese government that Chinese investments and trade
relations will be reconsidered if Sudan does not cooperate with the
international community.
   * Redirect economic and infrastructure assistance funds provided to
Sudan (including those recently provided for the new presidential
palace) to humanitarian efforts in Darfur.

   * Suspend arms sales and military cooperation with Sudan until the
Darfur conflict is resolved.

http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/china_sudan_and_the_darfur_conflict_fact_sheet

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