Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Khartoum on Friday, as part of an eight-nation tour aimed at strengthening China's ties with its African economic partners. Darfur is also expected to be on the agenda during Hu's visit. Western nations are pushing China to use its leverage to press Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to allow a U.N. peacekeeping mission into Darfur.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he will put pressure on Sudan to find a solution for the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region. For VOA, Franz Wild reports from Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the U.N. chief spoke to reporters before continuing on to the African Union summit in Addis Ababa.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, peace in the Middle East and nuclear disarmament are among his top priorities. He also says strong partnership between the U.N. and the United States is important.

Sudan hosted summits by both the African Union and Arab League during the past year, and it has one of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world. But the country's Darfur region remains wracked by a deadly conflict that will soon enter its fourth year. Sudan has repeatedly turned away United Nations peacekeeping efforts, despite the threat of a wider conflict engulfing neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.