Sudan: Chinese foreign minister visits Sudan
By Nangayi Guyson in Kampala Uganda- China’s foreign minister Yang Jiechi is in Sudan on a visit. China is a strong supporter of Sudan and its President Omar al-Bashir, despite allegations of Sudanese war crimes in Darfur. The visit comes after Sudan released a cargo of South Sudanese oil it had blocked in a row over custom duties.
China's foreign minister Yang Jiech
South Sudan has to export oil via the north because it has no port or refineries of its own. However, the two sides have so far failed to agree on transit fees, or how to share oil revenue. Chinese companies are heavily involved in Sudanese oil extraction.
Mr Yang will however travel from Khartoum to South Sudan on Tuesday since three-quarters of the reserves now lie in South Sudan. There is continuing north-south tension over oil between the north and southern Sudan, on Friday last week , Sudan blocked a 600,000 barrel oil shipment from South Sudan on Friday.
Khartoum said South Sudan had failed to pay the north customs duties for the use of its pipeline, refinery and port. Southern officials confirmed on Saturday that the shipment had been released. An official told Reuters that Juba had rejected the $32 (£19) a barrel fee demanded by Khartoum and said that the African Union (AU) had been asked to find a compromise. Relations between the two states remain tense.
