BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States have expressed the commitment here Tuesday to work with each other to promote the settlement of the Sudan Darfur issue.

    "The two sides have agreed to continue to maintain communication and exchange information on the Sudan (Darfur) issue in an effort to promote the settlement of the issue at an early date", Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular press briefing.

    Ma made the remarks in reply to a question about U.S. special envoy on Sudan Scott Gration's ongoing visit to China.

    According to Ma, Gration arrived in China on Monday and met respectively with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi and Liu Guijin, the special representative of the Chinese Government for the Darfur issue.

    "They exchanged views on issues such as the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)," Ma said.

    The Sudanese government and the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement signed the CPA on Jan. 9, 2005 in order to end conflicts, which is one of the longest civil wars in the African continent.

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