China on Monday called for "calmness and restraint" in resolving the oil dispute between Sudan and South Sudan.

"We have noticed that the tension has recently escalated to a degree on the issue between the two sides, and we are concerned about it," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular news briefing in response to a question on the dispute.

"We think that oil is the economic lifeline shared by the two countries," Liu said, adding that China hopes that Sudan and South Sudan will remain calm and restrained in addressing their differences through consultation and dialogue.

It has been reported that Sudan and South Sudan will start a new round of negotiations in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa from Jan. 17 to 23 under the African Union mediation.

"We hope that the two nations will compromise with each other to achieve a breakthrough in the negotiations," Liu said.

The Chinese side, which has been making efforts to persuade the two sides into negotiations all along, is looking forward to success achieved through the mediation by the African Union and other parties in reaching a consensus as soon as possible on the oil issue, Liu said.

Early last December, Sudan and South Sudan suspended their talks over the filing of oil revenues in Addis Ababa and agreed to resume the talks this January.

The Sudanese government previously announced that it had started deducting its dues in the form of taking 23 percent of southern oil shipped through its territories, after South Sudan refused to pay arrears amounting to 900 million U.S. dollars since its separation from the north in July 2011.