China welcomes border deal between Sudan and South Sudan

China on Monday (February 13) welcomed a border deal signed by Sudan and South Sudan covering border security and the disputed Abyei region, but called on the two sides to continue negotiating for an oil deal.

"We welcome the news. Sudan and South Sudan are neighbours, they can only achieve joint development through peaceful coexisting, which will also be conducive to regional peace and stability. We hope both sides can seriously abide by the agreement, and continue to negotiate for the resolution of other pending issues such as distribution of oil profits," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a regular news conference in Beijing.

Sudan is undergoing a severe economic crisis after losing three-quarters of its oil production when South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 peace deal. Oil is the lifeline of both economies.

Both sides have failed to resolve a long list of disputes including how to disentangle their oil industries, divide debt, mark the poorly drawn border and decide who should control Abyei, a region the size of Connecticut that was a major battleground during the war.

Sudan is locked in a row with South Sudan over oil payments as the landlocked new nation needs to export its crude through northern facilities.

Both sides have failed to agree on a transit fee. South Sudan shut down its entire output last month after Sudan seized southern oil as compensation for what it calls unpaid fees.