BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday said it welcomes the United Nations Security Council resolution on deploying a UN-African Union (AU) hybrid peacekeeping force in Sudan's western region of Darfur, and expects concerned parties will "smoothly" implement the resolution.

    "China welcomes the Resolution 1769 unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council, which authorized the deployment of a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao in response to press.

    "This is an important step to promote the process of resolving the Darfur issue, and we hope all parties value the current positive momentum, and fully take advantage of the Sudanese government, UN and AU negotiation mechanism, to smoothly implement the resolution," said Liu.

    He said that peacekeeping mission is only one aspect of resolving the Darfur issue, and the international community should adhere to a "double track" strategy -- a balanced combination of political process and the peacekeeping mission.

    Liu called for the international community to accelerate the political process, help the Sudanese government improve humanitarian situation in Darfur and promote reconstruction and development there, saying these measures are an important precondition for the realization of lasting peace in Darfur.

    The UN Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt Resolution 1769, which authorized the deployment of a 26,000- strong joint UN-AU peacekeeping force in Darfur.

    Under the resolution, co-sponsored by Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, Peru and Slovakia, the "hybrid operation" in Darfur is mandated for an initial period of 12 months, and will consist of up to 19,555 military personnel, up to 3,772 international police and 19 formed police units with up to 2,660 officers.

    The resolution provides that the hybrid force shall have a "predominantly African character," which means African troops will be considered first.