China reiterated Thursday its regret and worry about an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on war crimes charges, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang clarified China's stance in a statement Thursday morning, and reiterated it in a regular press conference Thursday afternoon.
The ICC, set up in 2002 as the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, issued the warrant on Wednesday, accusing Bashir of orchestrating a campaign of genocide starting in 2003 in Darfur, the troubled region of western Sudan.
"It is the will of the Sudanese people and the international community to realize peace and development in Darfur as soon as possible. China is a country that loves peace and upholds justice. As a responsible country and permanent member of the Security Council, China has made great efforts for peace and stability in Darfur as well as a proper solution of the issue," Qin said.
"Thus, based on the above-mentioned points, the Chinese government expresses regret and worry. China eyes on the region's peace and stability while considering this issue, and we don't want to see the efforts we have made and positive progress we have achieved in Darfur come to nought," he added.
Qin said the primary task for the international community was to maintain stability in Darfur and to continue to push forward the political process and the joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission.
He urged relevant sides to take into consideration that the ICC's decision might interfere in, and negatively affect, Darfur's peace process, a proper solution to the Darfur issue as well as the region's peace and stability.
"China opposes any acts that might interfere with the peaceful overall situation of Darfur and Sudan," Qin said."All parties should think carefully before taking actions."
Liu Guijin, the special representative of the Chinese government for Darfur Thursday afternoon also said in an interview that the arrest warrant issued after a peaceful agreement between the Sudanese government and the rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) would gravely obstructed the peace process in Darfur.
He noted that the agreement of goodwill and confidence-building for the settlement of the problem in Darfur signed in February created a good environment for achieving progress in the political process.
"Though judicatory justice is important for the Darfur region, it should not be acquired at the cost of peaceful process in the region," he said, noting that the international community should be responsible and committed to appeasing the situation in Sudan, but not fuel the already tense situation.