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.