China concerned over ICC Sudan arrest warrant

China’s government said it was concerned over an International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s decision to seek an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir over genocide in Darfur, AP reported. "China expresses great concern and worry about the ICC’s prosecutor’s accusation against Sudanese leaders," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Tuesday. Monday’s indictment was the first time that the war crimes tribunal has issued charges against a sitting head of state, but the newswire report said that al-Bashir is unlikely to face trial soon. China has been criticized for not pressuring the Sudanese government to work for peace in Darfur, where the United Nations puts the death toll at more than 300,000. China buys two-thirds of Sudan’s petroleum exports.