China contests remarks by UN rights chief on Sudan (AP)

GENEVA – A Chinese diplomat in Geneva says the U.N.'s top human rights official went too far by criticizing China for failing to arrest Sudan's president.

Xia Jingge said in an email Friday that China is "strongly opposed" to remarks a day earlier by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

Pillay told reporters she was "disappointed" that China welcomed Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir during a visit this week rather than arrest him to ensure he stands trial on war crimes charges.

The diplomat also said Pillay's remarks have "no legal basis" since China hasn't joined the International Criminal Court.

He said China also has "serious reservations" about the case alleging al-Bashir is responsible for atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region.

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China welcomes Sudan leader wanted on war crimes (AP)

BEIJING – China said Sudan's president will be warmly welcomed on his delayed state visit Tuesday and it would reserve opinion on the international warrant that accuses him of war crimes.

President Omar al-Bashir has been welcomed in many countries in recent years and would be to China as well, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

The International Criminal Court warrant alleging war crimes is its first against a sitting head of state, accusing al-Bashir of orchestrating atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region. China, a major economic partner for Sudan, is not a member of the court.

"China is not a signatory of the ICC ... and we reserve our opinion on the ICC's prosecution of al-Bashir," Hong told a news conference.

Al-Bashir will hold talks with President Hu Jintao on Wednesday, a meeting delayed a day because al-Bashir arrived nearly 24 hours later than expected.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday the plane was told to change its route while flying over Turkmenistan but was unable to do so, and instead returned to Tehran.

Sudan's ruling National Congress Party has suggested the United States pressured China and other countries in an attempt to cancel the trip.

Sudanese media reported that the presidential plane was over Turkmenistan airspace when authorities there said they had withdrawn an earlier flight authorization for it.

Another country in the flight path, Tajikistan, excused itself from a prior authorization by citing military exercises taking place in the same airspace, according to the independent Al Rae Al Aam daily, among others.

After Al-Bashir's plane returned to Iran, the Chinese government insisted the trip be completed, the newspapers reported, quoting informed sources in the government who asked not to be named.

"This is a new defeat for the United States of America" the independent daily Al Rae Al Aam, quoted Gotbi Mahadi, a senior ruling party official as saying.

Al-Bashir's talks with Chinese leaders are expected to focus on promoting peace in the African nation ahead of south Sudan's independence next month.

Violence has escalated in areas contested by the north and soon-to-be-independent south, and China is pressing both sides to peacefully settle the disputes, Beijing's special envoy for African affairs Liu Guijin said last week.

China has long had close ties with the leaders of the north. It has been courting support in the oil-producing south, which becomes an independent country July 9.

South Sudan's declaration of independence next month will be the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war that killed more than 2 million people.

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Associated Press writer Mohamed Osman in Khartoum, Sudan, contributed to this report.

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China says Sudan divide on agenda as Bashir visits (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) – Senior Chinese officials will take up the secession of south Sudan during talks with Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who began a state visit to his country's powerful patron on Tuesday after a delay to his arrival.

Bashir had been due to arrive on Monday for a summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao, one of the few foreign leaders willing to host the Sudanese leader, under indictment by the International Criminal Court over war crimes charges stemming from fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan.

But Bashir failed to show up on time in the Chinese capital, a delay that the Sudanese Foreign Ministry later attributed to a change in his aircraft's flight plan.

He arrived in the early hours of Tuesday and the summit with Hu was scheduled for Wednesday morning.

"This visit will help advance traditionally friendly China-Sudan relations, issues facing north and south Sudan, and the resolution of the problems in the Darfur region," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a briefing.

In comments published earlier by state news agency Xinhua, Hong confirmed that Sudan's "north-south peace process and the Darfur issue" would be on the agenda.

China is a major buyer of Sudanese crude oil, and will be keen to ensure the partition of Sudan into two states, Bashir's north and a more oil-abundant south, will not descend into fighting that could disrupt supplies and damage Beijing's stake on both sides of the new border.

China has been building ties with the emerging state in southern Sudan but remains a major supporter of Bashir, including acting as Khartoum's top arms supplier.

In interviews with official Chinese media, the long-time Sudanese leader mixed reassurances about his commitment to a peaceful secession of the south from July 9, which Beijing has encouraged, with a warning that the split could still go wrong.

The are many "time bombs" in the dividing of Sudan and the possibility of war again erupting between the two sides cannot be excluded, Bashir told the People's Daily, China's main official newspaper, in an interview published on Monday.

Trade between China and Sudan grew to $8.6 billion in 2010, a rise of 35.1 percent on 2009 figures, powered by the rising value of Chinese imports of oil, according to Chinese customs statistics.

Sudan was China's sixth biggest source of imported crude oil last year, when it supplied 12.6 million metric tons, compared with 44.6 million metric tons from the top supplier, Saudi Arabia.

China's special envoy for Africa Affairs and former envoy to Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region, Liu Guijin, told reporters last week that China had "done a lot of work to persuade" the north to implement the peace agreement and referendum.

Khartoum seized the main town in the north-south border region of Abyei on May 21, raising fears the two sides could return to conflict. But Sudan's military and the south's Sudan People's Liberation Army last week agreed to withdraw their forces in favor of Ethiopian peacekeepers.

Hong told reporters that Bashir's delayed flight -- due to "technical problems" -- would not affect the visit. But he expressed China's disapproval over the war crimes charges.

"China ... has serious reservations about the complaints lodged against President Bashir," he said.

Human rights groups have urged Beijing to arrest Bashir. China has shrugged off these calls, saying it has every right to host the head of a state with which it has diplomatic relations.

"President Bashir in recent years has visited many countries, and has received warm and friendly treatment. China, in extending a friendly reception to Sudan's visiting head of state, cannot be criticized," Hong said.

(Editing by Ben Blanchard and Robert Birsel)

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Sudan leader Omar al-Bashir arrives in Beijing: AFP (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) – Omar al-Bashir, wanted for war crimes, arrived in Beijing early Tuesday, according to an AFP photographer, a day after the Sudanese leader was originally due in China to meet President Hu Jintao.

Bashir's visit has outraged rights groups who criticise Beijing for hosting a man wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for atrocities committed during Sudan's civil war.

He had been scheduled to arrive early Monday but Chinese foreign ministry staff said his plane was "delayed", prompting the cancellation of planned meetings, including with Hu.

Chinese state media confirmed the arrival for a state visit as a guest of President Hu.

A Xinhua report quoted comments made earlier by Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, saying leaders of the two nations will discuss "how to consolidate China-Sudan relations and expand cooperation."

The two sides will also exchange views on Sudan's ongoing north-south peace process and the Darfur issue, Hong said.

China is a key supporter of the regime in Khartoum despite ICC arrest warrants for Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan's western Darfur region, where about 300,000 people have died since 2003.

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US opposes Sudan leader's planned China visit (AFP)

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States on Monday signaled opposition to a visit to China by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is accused of war crimes.

Bashir, after a reported delay, is due to visit China on Tuesday amid outrage from rights groups that Beijing would host a man wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity during Sudan's civil war.

"We continue to oppose invitations, facilitation, support for travel by ICC indictees," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

"We have a longstanding policy of strongly urging other nations to do the same," she said.

"We have urged China to join the international community in its call for Sudan to cooperate fully with the ICC," in line with UN Security Council resolution 1593, Nuland said.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan's western Darfur region, where about 300,000 people have died since 2003.

He is the first sitting head of state to be targeted by an ICC warrant.

ICC statutes dictate that any member country should arrest Bashir if he visits. China is not a party to those statutes.

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Sudan leader's arrival in China 'delayed' (AFP)

BEIJING (AFP) – A meeting between President Hu Jintao and Sudan leader Omar al-Bashir, who is accused of war crimes, was cancelled Monday after Bashir's arrival in Beijing was delayed, the Chinese government said.

Bashir had been due in China early in the day, with rights groups outraged that Beijing would host a man wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity during Sudan's civil war.

Chinese foreign ministry staff told AFP that Bashir's plane was "delayed" and the afternoon's activities cancelled, referring to a meeting with Hu.

They later said the Sudanese leader was now expected to arrive in Beijing at 3:30am on Tuesday (1930 GMT Monday) and that the talks with Hu had been set back to Wednesday morning.

The Sudanese foreign ministry said Bashir, who had been attending a counter-terrorism summit in Tehran, had to reroute his trip and had flown back to Iran.

Bashir was due to stay in China -- a key supporter of the regime in Khartoum -- until Thursday, although it was unclear whether the delay would now prolong his visit.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Bashir for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan's western Darfur region, where about 300,000 people have died since 2003.

He is the first sitting head of state to be targeted by an ICC warrant.

ICC statutes dictate that any member country should arrest Bashir if he visits. China is not a party to those statutes.

Bashir cancelled plans to attend a summit earlier this month in Malaysia, which declared this year that it intends to recognise the ICC's jurisdiction to show its commitment to fight crimes against humanity.

China is a major military supplier to the regime in Khartoum and the biggest buyer of the country's oil, although the majority of Sudan's oil fields are located in the south, which will become independent next month.

Beijing last week defended the visit.

"In recent years President Bashir has made many visits to other countries and was warmly welcomed," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

"It's quite reasonable for China to invite the head of a state that has diplomatic ties with China to come for a visit."

New York-based Human Rights Watch said Bashir's visit to China was "an affront to victims of heinous crimes committed in Darfur" and urged Beijing to withdraw its invitation -- or arrest Bashir when he arrived.

Amnesty International said earlier this month China risked becoming a "safe haven for alleged perpetrators of genocide" if it hosted Bashir.

Bashir was also slated to hold talks with other top Chinese officials.

Topics on the agenda were likely to include possible fresh aid to Sudan and problems in Abyei, a disputed border area claimed by Bashir's Khartoum-based northern Sudan regime and the rival government in the south.

Khartoum government troops occupied Abyei on May 21 and tens of thousands of people have since fled to the south.

The north and south reached an accord last Monday under which border areas will be demilitarised.

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Sudan president's trip to China delayed a day (AP)

BEIJING – The plane carrying Sudan's president to China was forced to turn back Monday over Turkmenistan, delaying his scheduled visit to the major economic partner that invited him despite an international warrant accusing him of war crimes.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry said President Omar al-Bashir would arrive in Beijing after a new flight plan was approved from the Iranian capital, where he had been visiting. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said he would arrive early Tuesday.

The delay forced the rescheduling of a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao and the reasons why the plane had been redirected were not fully explained.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Sudan News Agency that al-Bashir's plane had been instructed to change its route while flying over Turkmenistan but was unable to do so, and instead returned to Tehran, where al-Bashir had just attended an anti-terror conference. It did not explain why the original route was altered.

The website of the France-based Sudan Tribune cited unnamed sources as saying the presidential plane's flight path was abandoned after it was "deemed risky" but didn't elaborate.

Chinese Foreign Ministry official Guan Enxia said al-Bashir would arrive early Tuesday and that meetings with Hu and other Chinese leaders had been pushed to Wednesday.

Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for allegedly orchestrating atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region on the first such warrant against a sitting head of state.

The Netherlands-based court has no police force and relies on member states to execute its orders and warrants. China is not a member.

The Sudanese leader rejects the charges, and China, which has major oil investments in Sudan, has expressed concerns the indictment of al-Bashir could further destabilize the region.

Amnesty International earlier said China should withdraw its invitation to al-Bashir and arrest him if he travels to Beijing.

"If China welcomes Omar Al-Bashir, it will become a safe haven for alleged perpetrators of genocide," said Amnesty's Deputy Asia Pacific Director Catherine Baber.

Al-Bashir has traveled without arrest to several other nations, including ICC treaty signatories Chad and Kenya.

His talks with Chinese leaders are expected to focus on promoting peace in the African nation ahead of south Sudan's independence next month.

Violence has escalated in areas contested by the north and soon-to-be-independent south, and China is pressing both sides to peacefully settle the disputes, Beijing's special envoy for African affairs Liu Guijin said last week.

China has long had close ties with the leaders of the north. It has been courting support in the oil-producing south, which becomes an independent country July 9.

In an interview with China's state-run Xinhua News Agency before he left Sudan, al-Bashir said the split would not affect relations between Sudan and China, even if Beijing were to establish relations with the southern Sudan state.

He praised China as an oil partner, calling the agreements with Chinese companies a "real exchange of benefits," while saying deals with Western companies were unfair.

South Sudan's declaration of independence next month will be the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war that killed more than 2 million people.

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Associated Press writer Mohamed Osman in Khartoum, Sudan contributed to this report.

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