China is sending its top African affairs envoy to mediate in negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan in a dispute that threatens a source of oil exports to the Far East. Liu Guijin, a veteran Chinese diplomatic troubleshooter, will speak with leaders in both countries in an effort to restart the flow of crude after Sudan blocked shipments from South Sudan over an unpaid £500 million bill.
"China is concerned about the recent tensions between north and south Sudan, and in particular that negotiations over oil and related issues had stalled," Hong Lei, spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said on Monday.
China buys up to 70 percent of the two countries' oil, which amounts to more than five percent of Beijing's supplies.
Calling oil the economic lifeline of Sudan and South Sudan, Mr Hong said it is in the common interests of both countries to maintain normal oil production.
"We expect both sides to exercise calm and restraint, resolve disputes through consultations and negotiations and safeguard the peace between [Sudan] and South Sudan," he said.
The oil ministry in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, said last week that it had blocked South Sudan's exports because it was owed £466 million for unpaid "transit fees" between July and October.
South Sudan is landlocked and its oil must be pumped through pipes to an export terminal on the Red Sea, in Sudan's territory.
When the south became independent in July, no agreement had been reached between the two former civil-war enemies over sharing of their oil wealth.
Government officials in Juba, capital of South Sudan, said that the row would prompt them to accelerate efforts to fund alternative routes for the country's oil to reach export markets.
The most likely option would be through neighbouring northern Kenya, to a new terminal to be built at Lamu on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast.
