Liu Guijin, China's new Special Representative for African Affairs, called on Khartoum to be flexible in implementing a new UN-sponsored peacekeeping plan. The new plan calls for the incremental deployment of a joint African Union-UN force of 20,000 peacekeepers, AP reported. During a five-day visit to Sudan that ended Wednesday, Liu met with the country's vice president and toured refugee camps in Darfur. Liu also expressed Beijing's willingness to play a more constructive role in the area in addition to providing additional aid. The Chinese government has been widely accused of funding genocide in Darfur because it buys two thirds of Sudan's oil exports. Activists have threatened to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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