Under President Hu Jintao, China has emerged as an increasingly polished diplomatic actor, but its foreign performances are often marred by the failure of a rickety bureaucracy to meet international expectations. Accompanied by a throbbing media soundtrack about a ”rising China”, Beijing’s go-between role in crises from Darfur to North Korea has drawn criticism from Western powers wanting tougher steps.

China defended its stance on Darfur on Friday and urged patience as Western critics warned that Beijing’s reluctance to back stronger action in the troubled Sudanese region could blight Olympic Games goodwill. China has pressed Sudan to accept United Nations peacekeepers alongside African Union forces struggling to quell bloodshed in Darfur.

North Korea agreed to take steps towards nuclear disarmament under a groundbreaking deal struck on Tuesday that will bring the impoverished communist state more than -million worth of aid. Under the agreement Pyongyang will freeze the reactor at the heart of its nuclear programme and allow international inspections of the site.

Delegates to six-party talks began converging on the Chinese capital on Wednesday seeking to defuse North Korea’s smouldering nuclear crisis, but envoys and analysts cautioned that any final deal is a distant prospect. China’s chief delegate, Wu Dawei, has said the talks may last three or four days.