China hopes the international community not to merely impose pressure and sanctions against Sudan on the Darfur issue given the present situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a regular press conference Thursday afternoon.

"To resolve the Darfur issue requires joint efforts of the international community and the Sudanese government," Kong said, adding that peace process has shown its signs at present in Sudan and African leaders have reached a basic consensus on this point at the just-concluded fourth summit of African Union (AU) held between Jan. 30-31 in Nigerian capital Abuja.

China has been paying attention to the Darfur issue, he said. "China has always hoped and urged the Sudanese government to ease up the humanitarian situation in the Darfur region as soon as possible with the help of international community."

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, also the chairman of the 53-member AU, said on Jan. 31 in Abuja that peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebels in Darfur will resume in Abuja in the middle of February.

Under the auspices of the AU, the Sudanese government and rebels, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement, had held several rounds of peace talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and Abuja without a major breakthrough.

Darfur, abutting Chad, is an impoverished and isolated region in west Sudan. The Darfur conflict, which flared up in early 2003, has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and driven more than 1.8 million others from their homes.