China lauds Sudan's "unremitting efforts" in Darfur
BEIJING, June 11 (Reuters) - China praised Sudan for its work in trying to end the Darfur crisis and said Beijing would do what it could do stop the fighting.
China, a big investor in Sudan's oil industry and its largest weapons supplier, has faced widespread Western criticism that it has not used its influence in Sudan to press for an end to the violence.
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping told visiting Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha on Tuesday that China appreciated "the unremitting efforts" Sudan has made in Darfur.
"China will join hands with the international community to promote the early resolution of the issue," Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Thursday he would seek new indictments next month against top Sudan officials, accusing the "entire state apparatus" of involvement in crimes in Darfur.
Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo's address to the U.N. Security Council coincided with a visit by envoys to Darfur, scene of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
More than five years of conflict in Darfur have killed 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes, international experts say. Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.
China's role has come under renewed attention since film director Steven Spielberg quit as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, saying China had failed to use its sway in Khartoum to seek peace. (Reporting by Nick Macfie; Editing by David Fogarty)
