BEIJING - China on Thursday called for continued constructive efforts on the Darfur issue, but shrugged off discussion of sanctions against Sudan.

US President George W. Bush threatened on Wednesday to beef up economic sanctions and impose new punishments if Sudan fails to take concrete action to meet its obligations over Darfur crisis.

Secretary-General of United Nations Ban Ki-Moon, right, greets Oumar Konare, left, chairman of the African Union and former president of Mali at the beginning of an informal meeting regarding Sudan at UN headquarters on Monday, April 16, 2007. [AP]

But China disagreed with the United States on the sanctions, saying "it's not the right time to discuss sanctions".

"At present, more positive measures should be taken to implement consensus that had been reached," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao at a regular news conference Thursday.

Liu said the UN, the African Union (AU) and the Sudanese government have just reached full consensus on the second phase of Annan plan, marking a positive and pleasing progress about the Darfur issue.

Sudan's UN envoy announced Monday that the Sudanese government has approved the UN plan to send attack helicopters to support the AU force in war-torn Darfur.

The UN, the AU and the Sudanese government agreed in November last year on the three-phase support plan, also known as the Annan plan as it was put forward by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

With the first phase of the plan, a light support package, already underway, the three parties reached an agreement in principle in Addis Ababa on April 9 to inaugurate the second phase of a UN support plan for the AU mission in Darfur, known as "the heavy support phase."

But the Sudanese government's opposition for the deployment of attack helicopters in Darfur had blocked the scheduled implementation of the second phase.