Q: The most urgent task before you is the Darfur issue. China once said that sanctions on Sudan would only complicate the issue. But are sanctions necessary to a certain degree? Before the international community takes stronger actions, how long will the conflict situation sustain?

A: To be objective, some progress has been made with the Darfur issue. Since last November in particular, with the meditation by Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) and under the unanimous support of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Sudan, UN and the African Union (AU) reached Addis Ababa Consensus last November. The three-phase plan put forward by Kofi Annan has also obtained the universal support of the international community.

The Sudanese government has accepted the plan in principle. The first phase of the plan has been completed and the second phase is under way. Although it has some reservations about the third phase, the Sudanese government agreed to discuss it with other concerned parties. With respect to the political settlement, Salim Ahmed Salim Coordinator of the African Union (AU) to Sudan, and Jan Eliasson, the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy are urging the parties that haven't signed the Darfur Peace Agreement to sit down and try to reach an agreement. The Sudanese government expressed the will to talk with the rebel forces and urge them to join the Darfur Peace Agreement. Under such circumstances, imposing further sanctions would only complicate the situation and would not help the resolution of the issue.

Q: Will sanctions become necessary measures? When can the Sudanese government launch the third phase of the Plan?

A: We must try our best to find a political solution to this issue. On one hand, the deployment of hybrid peacekeeping forces in the Darfur region should be promoted. On the other hand, the negotiations between the Sudanese government and Darfur's opposition parties should be advanced. I just talked with the Special Envoy of the European Union (EU) to Darfur. EU supports the political settlement and stresses the importance of political process. If the anti-government forces that haven't signed the Darfur Peace Agreement do not participate the negotiations, deploying peacekeeping forces, no matter how large they are, would not help.

Q: If the UN Security Council votes on the resolution on imposing sanctions on Sudan, will China use the veto power?

A: It's not the time to talk about the resolution of the UN Security Council. AU, EU, the League of Arab States (LAS), and other concerned parties are still making efforts to find a political solution. It is the consensus of the international community to achieve the political settlement based upon dialogues and consultations on equal footings.

Q: China stresses in the White Paper of China's African Policies published before the opening of G8 Summit that UN should play a bigger role in preventing and resolving the conflicts. However, China opposes the unilateral deployment of peacekeeping forces by the United Nations without the consent of the Sudanese government. Do you think that the above two views are contradictory?

A: We cannot resolve an issue in a sovereign country without the collaboration of that country. The basic position of China on the Darfur issue is as follows: the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan should be respected; the issue should be solved politically through dialogues and consultations on equal footings; and UN and AU should play key roles. The goal of peacekeeping is to solve problems. That is why I stressed that the UN peacekeeping forces should first seek the consent of the Sudanese government before entering Sudan. Only in this way, can the problems be resolved. These two views are not contradictory at all.

Q: The investment of China in Sudan was criticized by the international community. There are some people even advocating a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games. The image of China on the international stage was damaged. Why does China maintain such a close relationship with Sudan?

A: The friendly relationship between China and Sudan is a type of normal state-to-state relationship. The investment of China is based upon equality and mutually beneficial cooperation. Such cooperation is featured by equality, mutual benefits, transparency and non-exclusiveness, therefore being widely acclaimed by the Sudanese people. Such cooperation contributed to the economic growth of Sudan and created conditions favorable for the resolution of the Darfur issue, whose root cause is poverty.

The companies of UK and France even went to court for the rights of exploiting the oil resources in southern Sudan. It shows it was not because the western companies had no interest in the oil resources of Sudan and it is only because the Chinese companies came to Sudan earlier than the western companies. The Chinese company started cooperation with Sudan as early as 1996. Some media made a big fuss about it and politicized such normal cooperation. These allegations are simply groundless.

The basic principle of the Olympic Games is to separate politics from sports. The 2008 Olympic Games is a grand sports event that has won the support of all the governments and the people. It is utterly unreasonable for some media to associate the position of the Chinese government on the Darfur issue with the 2008 Olympic Games. It is pure hype of a tiny number of media, including very few NGOs.

China's attitude toward the Darfur issue is fair and constructive. We have done a lot to resolve the issue. China is a not alone with such a position, which was echoed by most of the countries in the world, especially AU, LAS and African countries. Our position in many aspects is similar to that of EU. Actually Annan's three-phase plan was supported by AU, UN and all the five permanent members of the UN Security Council including the United States. China is also recognized by the concerned parties for the constructive role in advancing the Annan plan.

We believe that the international community should focus on the implementation of the Annan plan and at the same time promote the domestic political process in Sudan and get the rebel organizations and political parties that haven't signed the Peace Agreement back to the framework of the Peace Agreement. Only by advancing the hybrid peacekeeping operations and the political process in a balanced manner, can the issue be resolved once for all. The international community should have one voice to push the implementation of the Annan plan forward.

Q: What's the view of China on the proposal of setting up a humanitarian corridor put forward by France?

A: We welcome any proposal that is helpful for the proper settlement of the Darfur issue and any measure that is helpful for the ease of the humanitarian situation in the Darfur region. With regard to France's proposal of opening a corridor for the transportation of humanitarian Chad through Chad, I think it's positive. We will study it and we are open to any good proposal.

Q: Do you agree with the claim of the United States about the slaughter in the Darfur region?

A: I personally do have sufficient evidence to prove that.

Q: What is your future work plan?

A: I've visited Sudan and the Darfur region. I will continue to engage with the concerned parties including Sudan for communication, coordination and consultation so as to find a proper solution to the Darfur issue.