Harare — OVER the years, China, one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, has pussyfooted around the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's western Darfur region.

The Eastern giant has consistently blocked attempts by the four other permanent members of the Security Council -- France, Russia, United States and United Kingdom -- to impose sanctions on Sudan and members of its government accused of involvement in the atrocities, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and displaced more than two million civilians.

The Chinese have refused to speak out against the regime of Hassan Omar al-Bashir, who has vowed that there would be no international military intervention in his country as long as he remained in power.

He said such international intervention would be tantamount to the re-colonisation of Sudan, which attained independence in 1956.

In 2004, a Security Council resolution calling on the Sudanese government to prosecute the Janjaweed Arab militias who Khartoum is accused of sponsoring to wage a campaign of terror against civilians, floundered when the Chinese used their veto.

On other occasions, when the Darfur crisis has come up for discussion, China has opted to abstain from voting.

The reasons for the emerging economic powerhouse's ambivalence are not difficult to identify. Authoritative sources estimate that China has invested a total of US$10 billion in Sudan over the past 40 years or so.

This most populous nation in the world needs oil to fuel its rapid economic growth and Sudan provides about 10 percent of its requirements. This makes China Sudan's biggest trading partner.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, China owns and operates oilfields around Darfur and buys 70 percent of Sudan's oil.

The America-based Brookings Institution identifies the China National Petroleum Corporation as the largest investor in Sudan's oil sector.

So much for China's denunciation of oil-fuelled American hegemony in countries such as Iraq.

It is clear the Chinese have been hamstrung by three main considerations with respect to playing a more forceful role in helping to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The first is that the Chinese government has itself been accused of human rights abuses and is therefore loath to meddle in the internal affairs of fellow violators.

A second consideration is that the emerging economic giant needs to protect its investments in Sudan and keep the oil flowing.

Some non-governmental organisations have alleged the existence of a third reason for China's foot-dragging.

Beijing has been accused of fuelling tensions in Darfur by supplying the Sudanese government with weapons to arm the Janjaweed Arab militias that it has consistently refused to disarm. There have been reports of Chinese-made rocket shells being spotted on the battlefields of Darfur.

But against this background, the Chinese are suddenly reported to have expressed "grave concern" about a recent flaring of violence in Darfur and to be "actively working to resolve delays in establishing an international peace-keeping force".

The latest issue of the South African paper, The Sunday Times, quotes China's special envoy to Darfur, Liu Guijin, as saying China was pressing Sudan to do more to end the violence.

"I conveyed China's grave concerns about deterioration of conditions in western Darfur," said Liu.

During a recent trip to Africa, which also took him to Chad, the Chinese envoy met Sudanese head of state, Omar al-Bashir.

The Sunday Times story suggests that the reason for China's sudden scramble to condemn the atrocities is its desire to ensure that the Beijing Olympics it is hosting in August are a success and not marred by controversy. This is because there have been calls for political leaders from around the world to boycott the Olympics to protest China's role as Sudan's arms supplier oil patron.

Although so far the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has announced his intention to boycott the sports extravaganza, no other leaders have yet taken a similar stance.

The Chinese government's politically expedient and self-serving moves, which it is likely to abandon once the Olympics are out of the way, refocus attention on Africa's impotence when faced with regional crises.

These failures have continued despite the continent's much touted philosophy of identifying African solutions for African problems.

The incapacity of the African Union to resolve continental conflicts has been clearly demonstrated in Darfur where the poorly resourced AU peacekeeping force has watched helplessly as civilians have continued to be slaughtered.