Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with Sudan's First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 19, 2007. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday called on the international community to "seize favorable opportunity" at present and seek a resolution to the four-year conflict in western Sudan's Darfur region.

    Hu made the remarks in his meeting with Sudanese First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday.

    Hu called for pushing forward peacekeeping and political process in a balanced way and helping the Sudanese government to improve humanitarian and security situations in the Darfur region.

    "China will, as always, continue to play a constructive role," Hu said.

    Hu said China appreciated the efforts made by the northern and southern sides of Sudan to implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which was signed on Jan. 9, 2005 between the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

    China would firmly support Sudan's comprehensive peace process, and contribute to the stability, recovery and development in Sudan, Hu said.

    Not long ago, Hu said, the Sudanese government and the United Nations and African Union (AU) had reached agreement on sending the hybrid force to the Darfur region, which was widely welcomed by the international community.

    "Facts show that the trilateral talk among the Sudanese government, the UN and the AU is an effective mechanism to solve the Darfur issue," Hu said.

    Mayardit said the Sudanese government had been committed to the political settlement of the Darfur issue.

    "After the Abuja agreement, the rebel groups (in Darfur) are splitting...now they have come to more than 10 groups. It is very difficult to determine," Mayardit told a news briefing at the end of his Beijing visit later Thursday.

    The Darfur Peace Agreement is the major framework for the political settlement of the Darfur issue. Yet only one rebel faction signed with the Sudanese government in the Nigerian capital of Abuja in 2006.

    Mayardit said the Sudanese government is working hard to bring those groups on board,"

    "We will have a comprehensive peace in our country. Hopefully, we will be succeeding in bringing on board who did not sign the peaceful agreement," Mayardit said.

    He expressed gratitude for China on sending peacekeeping troops to southern Sudan, appointing the special envoy, and providing humanitarian aids to Sudan.

    As president of the southern Sudan region, Mayardit hailed the Sudan's north-south partnership as "very strong".

    He said the southern Sudan is very interested in attracting Chinese investment and vowed to safeguard the security of Chinese there.

    This was Mayardit's second visit to China. The six-day visit will also take him to China's financial center of Shanghai and southwestern Chongqing Municipality.