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's Bashir arrival in China delayed on flight path (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) – Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir failed to show up on time on Monday in the Chinese capital for talks with his country's most powerful patron, a problem attributed to a change in the flight plan of his aircraft.

Bashir, who faces indictment from the International Criminal Court over war crimes, had been due to arrive in Beijing early on Monday for talks that will focus on Sudan's impending split into two countries.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry, in a statement published by the state news agency SUNA, said Bashir's arrival had been delayed because of a change in flight path over Turkmenistan.

"The arrival of Omar al-Bashir ... to the Chinese capital, which was expected yesterday evening, was delayed," it said.

"This was due to a change in the presidential plane's path above Turkmenistan's territory at a time when it was not possible to cross on a new path, which obliged the pilot to return to Iran." The news agency added that the Chinese and Sudanese embassies in Tehran were monitoring developments. It also said a new route had been found and it was expected Bashir would arrive in Beijing later on Monday.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry official said Bashir would arrive in Beijing in the early hours of Tuesday, and meet President Hu Jintao on Wednesday.

"It is murky, and in some ways the Turkmenistan connection deepens the confusion further. But I think it's still hugely unlikely that it is a deliberate snub," said Jamie Ingram, Africa analyst at IHS Global Insight.

"If the Sudanese were to abandon the trip altogether, I think that would be taken badly by Beijing and that would probably be unwise for Sudan. China is a very important relationship for them and Beijing could take a much more pro-South Sudan line which would be bad for Khartoum."

Analysts have said Bashir is likely to use his four-day visit to China to reassure Chinese leaders that their investments and energy stake in Sudan will not be threatened by the north-south split of his country scheduled for July 9.

Before leaving Khartoum, Bashir told Chinese media the impending split risked triggering "time bombs," but said his government's bond with China would not be shaken by Beijing's courting of the secessionist south.

Beijing has been building ties with the emerging state in southern Sudan but continues to be one of the major supporters of Bashir, who faces indictment from the International Criminal Court over war crimes charges stemming from long-running fighting in the Darfur region.

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.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley and Tyra Dempster in BEIJING, Alexander Dziadosz in KHARTOUM, Parisa Hafezi in TEHRAN and Peter Apps in LONDON; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Robert Birsel)

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