How China's support of Sudan shields a regime called 'genocidal'

Despite instability in the south and the crisis in Darfur, China continues to offer political and military backing.

from the June 26, 2007 edition

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Meanwhile, in its role as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has continuously blocked effective action against Sudan by arguing for the respect of Sudan's sovereignty. This is in line with China's overall policy to respect other nations' independence.

"China had suffered imperialist aggression and oppression for over 100 years before the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. Therefore, China regards the hard-earned right of independence as the basic principle of foreign policy," the foreign ministry states on its website.

China respects and defends Sudan's sovereignty

In light of this way of thinking, China has repeatedly used veto threats to block the deployment of a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, significantly weakening international pressure on Sudan's government to solve the crisis.

China does diplomacy in its own way, stress officials in Beijing. Unimpressed with what it – and others – see as the West's strong-arm tactics and father-knows-best conditionality for aid and trade, China aims for a subtler, more respectful approach.

For example, while Chinese President Hu Jintao made no public statements about Darfur during his February visit to Sudan, he did discuss the issue with Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir behind closed doors, according to Zhang Dong, China's ambassador in Khartoum. China "…never interferes in Sudan's internal affairs," Zhang emphasized to the Xinhua news agency – but it does "play an essential role here" by "respecting" Sudan and "consulting with it as an equal."

"The Chinese government is very cautious," stresses Xu Weizhong, director of the department of African Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a government think tank. "If it loses influence with Khartoum, a direct confrontation between Sudan and the United States could make the situation worse."

In April, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhai Jun repeated this message after a three-day trip to Sudan, which included a visit to a Darfur refugee camp, a rare move for a Chinese official. "The Chinese government is deeply concerned with the Darfur issue and has provided several batches of humanitarian assistance materials to the region," Xinhua quoted Mr. Zhai as saying – but there were no public calls for UN troops to be allowed in, or pressure to stop the killings.

Beijing's 'subtle diplomacy'

But less than a week later, whether or not due to quiet pressure by China, President Bashir conceded to a deployment of 3,500 UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

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Click to enlarge Sources: AP, Reuters, Xinhua, Human Rights Watch/Rich Clabaugh - Staff