China expressed regret over the decision by movie director Steven Spielberg to quit as an artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics because of its policies in war-torn Sudan.

"We express regret," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a news conference.

The Hollywood director said he pulled out because China was doing too little to help halt the bloodshed in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, where Khartoum-linked militia have battled rebel groups.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.