Rice presses China and Africa on Zimbabwe

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday pressed China and African powers to back international action on Zimbabwe, while also raising hopes of fresh nuclear talks soon with North Korea.

US President George W. Bush has said he would ask for UN action against what he called Zimbabwe's illegitimate government following President Robert Mugabe's re-election in a poll widely criticised for violence and intimidation.

China and leading African powers have so far shied away from endorsing such steps. And following meetings with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and then President Hu Jintao, Ms Rice told reporters that she wanted "not just another statement" from the UN.

Ms Rice urged the African Union, which is holding a summit due to discuss Zimbabwe, to back stronger action over Mr Mugabe's controversial re-election.

"This is not an African issue alone... it is an issue for the Security Council," Ms Rice said. "But I think we are all looking for something out of the African Union."

Ms Rice was on the second and final day of a visit to China, where she first went to an earthquake-devastated city in the southwest before taking up Iran, North Korea and other international hotspots in talks in Beijing.

China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Sunday held back from saying where he stood on the UN steps on Zimbabwe floated by Washington.

But Ms Rice held up brighter hopes for cooperation with Beijing over North Korea, which last week took a step forward in curtailing its nuclear weapons ambitions.

On Thursday, North Korea delivered a long-delayed list of its nuclear activities, as it was required to do in a disarmament-for-aid deal reached in talks hosted by China.

In a symbolic move to show its commitment to the nuclear deal, the North also toppled the cooling tower at its plutonium-producing reactor on Friday.

China, which hosts six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, is seen as key to persuading its communist neighbour to embrace deeper nuclear disarmament steps in future talks.

She welcomed China's announcement on Sunday that it will soon hold fresh talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader.

"I hope there will be some positive developments and some momentum behind the talks," she said. "This is the way to deal with the issue."