Sudan's Bashir arrives in China to talk peace

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir landed in Beijing Tuesday morning.

Bashir begins a four-day visit to China, in which the two nations will discuss their international cooperation. China has also said that it will work with Bashir at achieving peace between North and South Sudan.

President Bashir told Chinese state news agency Xinhua that the Sudanese regard China as the strategic partner for Sudan in various fields, including the political, economic, commercial and cultural fields.

Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on a number of charges, including genocide and war crimes, had trouble getting to the meeting. He arrived a full day late and missed an engagement with Chinese President Hu Jintao because, according to Bashir, his plane had to turn around to avoid flying over Turkmenistan.

Now that Bashir has arrived, talks will begin with Chinese officials. The two parties will exchange views on Sudan's ongoing north-south peace process and the Darfur issue, according to Xinhua.

Over the past month, fighting has broken out between the North and South. Bashir's northern army has occupied the border region of Abyei and there has been clashes between government forces, as well as alleged abuses of civilians, in the Khartoum and Southern Kordofan states.

On Tuesday, the United Nations passed a resolution to send 4,200 Peacekeeping troops to Abyei to assure security during South Sudan's transition into independence.

Bashir is wanted in most countries in the world, and should he set foot in a nation that supports the ICC, he would be arrested and detained and eventually put on trial for his alleged offenses.

A total of 114 countries are members of the ICC; China is not one of them.

The international community is outraged by China's invitation of the leader. Amnesty International is saying that China would be considered a safe haven for alleged perpetrators of genocide should the visit be allowed to happen.

China has reserved its opinion towards the International Criminal Court lawsuit against President Omar al-Bashir, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei stated last week.

President Bashir has been visiting other countries on a number of occasions and has been warmly welcomed by those countries. It's quite reasonable for China to invite the head of a state that has diplomatic ties with China to come for a visit.