The Obama administration is asking China to use its influence with Sudan's president to press for an end to rising violence that threatens a landmark peace deal and could complicate southern Sudan's plans to declare independence next month.
The State Department said Thursday it wants China to urge Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to abide by the terms of the 2005 peace agreement that ended Sudan's two-decade north-south civil war and led to a secession vote by the south.
Bashir is to visit China later this month amid a surge in fighting around disputed border areas that has raised fears of a renewed war.
President Barack Obama met on Thursday with his special envoy to Sudan, two days after recording an audio message to the Sudanese people, appealing for calm.
Shares