(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-25 11:04

CAIRO -- An Egyptian expert on the Darfur issue Sunday spoke highly of China's role in promoting the development of the war-torn region, calling development the fundamental solution to the Darfur crisis in the long run.

In an interview with Xinhua, Hani Raslan, head of the Sudan and Nile Basin Studies Program of the Al-Ahram Center for Political & Strategic Studies, said that China's aid to Sudan is contributing to the stability of the whole region.

"China provides humanitarian aid, builds water projects, hospitals and schools in Darfur to promote local development and improve people's lives," Raslan said.

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"China doesn't interfere in Sudan's internal affairs. China's investment in Sudan can help improve the expertise of the local people," he said, adding that China aims to benefit all the common people, not a small group of people.

Since 2003, the conflict between the Sudanese government and rebels in Darfur has left thousands of people dead and a lot more homeless.

On the Darfur crisis, Raslan said the Sudanese government is facing division and instability, and the regional and international interference in the Darfur issue causes a deterioration of the crisis.

He said the foreign interference is from countries such as Western European countries and the United States.

Raslan believed that development, together with the political participation of the parties concerned, is the main approach to the Darfur crisis.

On the issue of some Westerners linking the Darfur issue with China's 2008 Beijing Olympics, Raslan termed it as a "Western campaign to defame China's image."

"The Western countries always mention the human rights problem in Darfur, but take double standards on the issues of Iraq and Afghanistan, which caused severe casualties of civilians," he said.

The Egyptian expert hailed China's products with the best prices and highest quality, and called Chinese people "kind and hard-working."