Beijing, 2008 Feb 20, IRIB

China's special envoy on Darfur has urged the West to do more to promote a peaceful settlement to the conflict in the African region, state media reported Wednesday.

Liu Guijin, who will begin a six-day tour of Britain and Sudan on Thursday, made the remark in an interview with the China Daily.

"Major rebel groups still refuse negotiations and are offering no conditions. That's the major reason why political progress lags behind the African Union-UN peacekeeping mission," Liu told the paper.

"Western powers can exert more positive influence on those rebel leaders because many of them live in western capitals."

According to the UN, about 200,000 people have died in Darfur since 2003.

UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday expressed alarm over renewed violence in Darfur.