AP News, February 2nd, 2007
Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday kicked off a landmark visit to Sudan _ the first by a Chinese president _ amid high expectations he would push Beijing's longtime ally to cooperate with the United Nations in solving the Darfur crisis.
Cheering Sudanese, some dancing to drums, lined the road to the airport while police beefed up security across the capital. State-run television broadcast the red carpet and fanfare reception at the Khartoum airport.
"I am extremely happy to visit Sudan at the invitation of President Omar al-Bashir," Hu said in a prepared statement at the airport. "Although the distance between China and Sudan is great, the friendship between the two people is deeply rooted."
A small crowd of Chinese residents and Chinese U.N. peacekeepers here waved Chinese and Sudanese flags as the two leaders reviewed a white-clad presidential guard.
Khartoum expects its staunchest diplomatic ally to stick to boosting commercial ties, particularly for Sudan's oil. China, which is the biggest foreign investor in Sudan and buys two-thirds of the country's oil exports, has used its veto-wielding status at the U.N. Security Council to prevent harsh measures against Sudan over the Darfur conflict.
But Beijing has raised expectations that Hu may bring some pressure on Khartoum to show flexibility in ending Darfur's bloodshed.
In an unusual foray into human rights, Chinese officials ahead of Hu's visit urged Sudan to cooperate in finding a solution in Darfur. Usually China refuses to interfere in what it considers other countries' internal affairs.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million been chased from their homes in Sudan's remote western region since 2003, when rebels from ethnic African tribes rose up against the central government.
Khartoum is accused of having responded by unleashing the janjaweed militias of Arab nomads, who have been accused of indiscriminate killings in a conflict the White House has labeled genocide. Sudan denies these charges.
On Thursday, an African Union peacekeeper was killed by unidentified gunmen in a Darfur refugee camp, the 11th peacekeeper to be slain in the conflict.
Sudan has refused to let U.N. peacekeepers into the region, calling "neocolonial" a Security Council plan to replace an overwhelmed African Union force with some 22,000 U.N. troops.
But Hu's two-day visit could indicate that the Sudanese leadership is grudgingly moving toward a compromise deal for U.N. troops to merge with the African force and form a joint peacekeeping mission.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged China to help persuade Sudan to accept U.N. peacekeepers during a meeting with China's U.N. ambassador last week.
"This visit is going to be a great boost for the distinguished Sudanese-Chinese relations in various fields," al-Bashir said on Thursday, according to the official SUNA news agency.
The Sudanese economy grew by 12 percent last year according to the International Monetary Fund. Chinese investment has helped boost production of the country's prime resource _ oil. China is also funding large projects such as the $1.8 billion Merowe hydroelectric complex.
