China supports implementation of Sudan, S Sudan agreements

China supports Sudan and South Sudan in implementing a series of agreements to improve bilateral relations and solve outstanding issues, a Chinese envoy said at the UN headquarters on Monday.

Liu Jieyi, the rotating UN Security Council president and China's permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks after closed-door consultations on Sudan and South Sudan.

He said the 15-member council has been closely monitoring the Sudan-South Sudan issue, which has recently seen "encouraging developments."

The leaders of the two countries, Omar Al-Bashir and Salva Kiir Mayardit, have exchanged visits and agreed on issues including border crossing, the establishment of a safe demilitarized border zone and oil transportation, Liu said.

The two presidents have also issued a joint communique on setting up the Abyei Administration to resolve the issue of the contested area of Abyei, he said.

The two countries should implement the arrangements, said Liu. Any unilateral action that runs counter to the agreements by either side will not help matters on the ground, he warned.

Liu also noted that China is concerned about the failure to vaccinate some 165,000 children against polio in Sudan's violence-wracked states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

"It is an issue that bears on the well-being of children and children are the future," he said.

"So we do hope that the conditions will be there so that this polio vaccination campaign can go ahead immediately covering those children that need such a vaccination," the envoy added.