29 November 2011
China on Tuesday called on the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to settle a dispute that has blocked oil exports from the landlocked south from flowing through the north’s terminals on the Red Sea.
China depends for nearly five percent of its oil imports on South Sudan, a new country long suspicious of Beijing’s ties with Khartoum.
“Regular oil production is important to both North and South Sudan,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists at a briefing on Tuesday.
“We hope both sides will keep calm, exercise restraint and take a flexible and pragmatic approach to resolving confrontations.”
Khartoum blocked the exports on Monday in a dispute over transit fees with South Sudan, which said the move had paralysed two loads, one of a million barrels and the other of 600,000 barrels.
The state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has pumped billions of dollars into developing oilfields in Sudan, 80 percent of which lie in the south.
In July, southern Sudan seceded from its larger and long-dominant north and China has sought to maintain good relations with both countries.
China is a key ally of Khartoum, which has suffered from US economic sanctions since 1997. It is a a major military supplier to the Khartoum regime, as well as one of the largest foreign investors and the biggest buyers of Sudanese oil.
ANP/AFP
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