BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- China and Sudan will sign a series of deals during President Hu Jintao's visit to the African country, a Foreign Ministry official said on Wednesday.

    Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun would not confirm whether the agreements included energy cooperation. However, he commented, "Energy cooperation between China and Sudan is very successful so it is natural for the two countries to sign such deals."

    According to Zhai, bilateral trade volume reached 2.9 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2006, making Sudan the third largest trading partner of China in Africa.

    Two countries have also made remarkable achievements in cultural, education and public health cooperation.

    Hu will pay a state visit to eight African nations, including Sudan, from January 30 to February 10. The other nations are Cameroon, Liberia, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Seychelles.

    "During the visit, Hu and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir areto exchange views on the Darfur issue," Zhai confirmed.

    "China has always played a positive role in trying to resolve the Darfur issue and sincerely hopes peace and stability in Sudan be resumed as soon as possible," said Zhai, who visited Sudan last week to prepare for Hu's visit.

    He said it was an important task of the global community to help resolve the Darfur issue but maintained that sanctions were not the answer.

    "Any solution to the issue should be made with the consent of the Sudanese government; pressure and sanctions would only make the problem more complicated," Zhai said.

    He said he is optimistic about the prospects of resolving the issue as some positive progress has been made.