On June 23, 2007, Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir met in the Presidential Palace with visiting Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Darfur Liu Guijin. They exchanged views on the relations between the two countries, the Darfur issue and other problems.

Al-Bashir said that the state visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Sudan early this year is a new milestone in the development history of the Sudan-China relations of friendship. Sudan appreciates the sincere help extended by the Chinese side for its social and economic development and is willing to work with China to advance the bilateral friendly cooperation in various fields.

He noted that China has been making enormous efforts and continuously playing a constructive role to help resolve the Darfur issue. The appointment of a special representative on Darfur proved again the concern of the Chinese government over the issue. The Sudanese government is willing to facilitate the Chinese envoy's work. The Darfur region and the local residents have benefited from the humanitarian assistances provided by the Chinese side, and it is hoped hat China would offer more help to the region.

Al-Bashir also said that a recent agreement among the Sudanese government, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) on a joint UN-AU peacekeeping operation in Darfur had proved the true intention of the government to actively cooperate with the international community to resolve the Darfur issue. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Sudanese government and other parties concerned, the humanitarian and security situations in Darfur have been improved considerably. The Sudanese government expects to hold negotiations at an early date with all the opposition groups which have not signed the Peace Agreement and called on the international community to urge those groups to join the peace process as soon as possible.

Liu thanked al-Bashir for his positive comments on the China-Sudan relations and explained the consistent position of the Chinese government over the Darfur issue. He said that the international community welcomes the recent announcement of the Sudanese government to accept the joint peacekeeping operation in Darfur. The Chinese government appreciates the efforts actively made by the Sudanese side and other parties concerned to resolve the Darfur issue.

Facts have shown that the consultation among the Sudanese government, the AU and the UN is an effective mechanism to solve the problem. The international community should continue their efforts under the framework of this mechanism to speed up the political process in Darfur, help the Sudanese government and people to further improve the humanitarian and security situations in the region and get the Darfur issue resolved as soon as possible, added Liu.

On the same day, Ali Ahmed Kerti, the Sudanese minister of state for foreign affairs, held talks with Liu on the Darfur issue and other problems of common concern.