China strongly opposes using the Olympic Games to hype political issues - such as Darfur - which only serve to disturb preparation works.

"It is of apparent political intention and purpose to link the Darfur issue with the Olympics," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said yesterday at a regular press conference. "Such practice violates the Olympic spirit and principle, and will never succeed."

People's Liberation Army soldiers, who are members of a UN peacekeeping unit destined for Darfur, train at their base in Central China's Henan Province last September. [Agencies]

China is firmly opposed to those persons or

organizations who hype particular issues in the name of the Olympics, said Jiang in response to a question asking whether China would put more pressure on Sudan.

Some foreign media believe China's continued support for the regime in Sudan could tarnish the Olympics.

"I don't know whether those organizations know China's role on the issue and the current situation in the Darfur region," she said.

Liu Guijin, Chinese special envoy for African affairs, rejected Western media accusations as groundless, saying it was ridiculous to politicize the Olympic Games.

"It is just some portion of Western media and organizations that stick to observing China through colored glasses," Liu said.

"The 2008 Games is not only China's but also the whole world's. The international community has already achieved a consensus that the Games should not be linked to politics," Liu told China Daily yesterday.

China has been the first country to promise and then to dispatch soldiers to take part in peacekeeping missions in Darfur, Jiang said.

A 140-strong advance troop of a Chinese engineering unit has arrived in Darfur, and the unit is gradually being deployed.

The political process and peacekeeping deployment in Darfur has achieved progress under joint efforts of all concerned parties, Jiang said.

Iran nuclear issue

China says six nations have reached consensus on the major elements of a draft UN resolution on the Iran nuclear issue, which says all sides will continue diplomatic efforts and resolve the issue through negotiations.

Foreign Ministers from China, the United States, Russia, Britain, France and Germany held talks on Tuesday in Berlin on the Iran nuclear issue and passed a draft resolution on the matter, which Jiang said will be submitted to the UN Security Council and go through further discussions of all members of the Security Council.

The UN Security Council has so far adopted two resolutions to force Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities and give up its nuclear programs.

Jiang called for all relevant sides to strengthen diplomatic efforts and take the initiative to find a creative way to break the deadlock.

Korean Peninsula

Also at yesterday's press briefing, Jiang said that China hopes all parties involved in the six-party talks will implement the second phase action plan on the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula with sincerity and patience.

Commenting on the latest progress of the six-party talks, Jiang said that all parties should carry out their obligations in an all-round and balanced manner.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed last October to disable all its existing nuclear facilities and provide a complete and correct declaration of all its nuclear programs by the end of 2007.

Jiang said the multilateral talks had made important progress, including the disabling of most nuclear facilities at Yongbyon at DPRK, while heavy oil and alternative material assistance from other parties was gradually being provided to the DPRK.