You are either a friend or an enemy. This is the gauge some countries have resorted to for dividing the world.

It is easy for them to single out their enemies, isolating or exerting sanctions against them.

Those who do not follow are criticized and excluded.

China has approached the Darfur issue from a different perspective.

After a fact-finding visit to the region, Chinese Special Envoy to Darfur Liu Guijin said the core of the crisis is not genocide but development.

Darfur is a region afflicted with adverse natural conditions. Different ethnic groups fight for the limited resources to survive.

Sanctions have been imposed on Sudan. Now new pressure and sanctions on the country are expected to mount.

Will this approach work?

Those who have carried out the design need to think hard.

Ignoring the roots of the crisis while wielding a big stick is not a feasible approach.

The way out for people in the Darfur region is to help them toward development.

More political efforts are needed to work out a peaceful solution. The positive signs from the region, as the Chinese envoy has found, are encouraging.

Increasing pressure or sanctions will only fuel the crisis. This is detrimental to the implementation of the second phase of the United Nations support plan.

Given the complexity of the Darfur situation, it is unrealistic to hope for an overnight solution. Wisdom and patience are needed from the international community.

Dialogue and negotiation are the most effective approaches to handling the issue. The international community needs to promote both peacekeeping missions and the political process to implement the "Annan proposal". This three-phase support plan aims at deploying a combination of African Union and UN peacekeeping forces in the Darfur region.

China knows well what peace means to the region. It has decided to dispatch a 275-member multi-functional engineering squad to help implement the second phase of the proposal.

China has dealings with Sudan for humanitarian support, peacekeeping missions and business. It is unfair to find fault with China's business with Sudan.

(China Daily May 31, 2007)