Few countries can be watching the Darfur crisis in Sudan with more anxiety than China. At issue is its involvement in Sudan's burgeoning oil sector. China's investments there have become so important that Beijing might even feel inclined use its veto if the UN Security Council were at some point to recommend imposing sanctions on Khartoum. Over recent years, China's state-owned firms have become active participants in Sudan's oil development. In 2000, the Khartoum government awarded a consortium led by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) a concession in the Melut basin east of the River Nile, about 700 kilometers south of the capital. This was in addition to CNPC's involvement in two producing blocks in the oil-rich Western Upper Nile region. The Chinese firm is the largest shareholder in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company which dominates the country's production. Despite the looming political crisis, the Melut development has begun, with production set to start next summer. [more
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