LONDON: More than 100 British lawmakers urged China on Monday to shoulder more responsibility for ending the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.

In a letter addressed to Chinese President Hu Jintao and delivered to China's Embassy in London, the legislators called on China to review what they described as a policy of providing arms to the Sudanese government.

The letter says China is in a position to persuade Sudan's government to withdraw its support for attacks on civilians, give aid operations the freedom to work unhindered, abide by existing cease-fire arrangements, disarm militias and cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court.

"We are also keen to see China review its long-standing policy of providing, and financing, arms sales to the government of Sudan to ensure that it is not contributing to the security crisis in Darfur," the letter said.

The letter, which said China's help is needed before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, was delivered by a delegation of legislators who planned to discuss it with senior embassy officials, according to the Associate Parliamentary Group for Sudan, which represents British lawmakers who follow Sudanese issues.

In Libya on Saturday, Sudan's government committed to a cease-fire in Darfur at the start of peace talks, but main rebel groups boycotted the U.N.-sponsored negotiations, reducing hopes for an end to the fighting.

The cease-fire announcement raised hopes that momentum for peace could still be generated, but Sudan's military has regularly bombed Darfur rebel zones and sent proxy-militias against villages despite previous pledges and U.N. resolutions.

Darfur's ethnic African rebels took arms in 2003 against the Arab-dominated central Sudanese government, accusing it of decades of discrimination. Khartoum is accused of retaliating with mass violence against civilians that has killed more than 200,000 and displaced over 2.5 million people, largely ethnic Africans.

Darfur rebels, along with many international rights activists, have accused China of indirectly funding Khartoum's war effort in Darfur by investing massively in Sudan's oil industry.

Sudan's government receives large royalties for the estimated 500,000 barrels that are pumped each day, and observers believe that up to 70 percent of this cash goes to the military.