China Confidential

China's decision to invite Sudanese President Omar Hassan al Bashir to the upcoming Africa summit has drawn criticism from international human rights advocates and one of Africa's leading Internet news sites, Afrique Centrale.

The Afrique Centrale coverage (click here, and here for two examples) could mark the beginning of an African backlash against rising China.

Critics accuse Beijing of overlooking the poor human rights record of some African governments in its quest to lock up oil and other raw materials and markets for Chinese products.

Beijing's invitation to Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, whose government is accused of massive human rights violations, has drawn similar fire.

Sudan's government is accused of supporting militias that have killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed villages, and committed wholesale rape of women in Darfur, in the country's south.

Bashir, the Sudanese leader, met with reporters here in Beijing Friday on the sidelines of China's gathering of 48 African countries, and denied those charges.

The Sudanese dictator defended his government's handling of the three-year-old Darfur crisis, and sought to downplay the atrocities that have been widely reported there. He said only 10,000 people had died in the conflict, contradicting international figures that put the toll at 200,000.

Bashir also reaffirmed his government's refusal to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

"We refuse to accept the entry of United Nations peacekeepers into Sudan, because the result of our refusal is better than the impact of accepting the deployment," Bashir said.

He said allowing UN peacekeepers would create a situation similar to the instability that now exists in Iraq, and letting them in would be worse than not letting them in.

Bashir said he appreciates China's support at the United Nations, which has authorized 20,000 UN troops to replace the seven thousand African Union peacekeepers currently deployed.

China says it will support the presence of UN troops only if Sudan agrees to it. But Beijing, which wants to be seen as a so-called responsible stakeholder in the international system, is eager to avoid the kind of international criticism it has been suffering for embracing Bashir.

Chinese television quoted President Hu as making unusually forceful statements about the situation in Darfur, urging the Sudanese leader, when the two met on Thursday, to push for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

The official reports quoted Hu as telling Bashir the Darfur matter had "reached a critical stage," and saying China hopes the Sudanese government will maintain dialogue with all parties in the conflict, adjust its position, and improve the humanitarian situation in the region.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao this week explained how Beijing justifies its invitation to leaders like Bashir and Mugabe.

Liu said strengthening cooperation with Africa in all fields is conducive to peace, development and prosperity for everyone. He said China is not ashamed to hold a summit with these leaders.

China traditionally abides by a policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries--a position that Human Rights Watch, a major United States-based human rights group, has likened in this case to remaining silent as mass killings go on.