On July 13th, 2004, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing held a phone conversation with his Sudanese counterpart Mustafa Osman Ismail upon request. Mustafa briefed the domestic situation of Sudan. Li Zhaoxing said that China has noticed the efforts made by the Sudanese government to ease the tensions in some areas and hopes the Sudanese government will continue to take effective measures and meanwhile strengthen coordination with the United Nations, the African Union and the League of Arab States (LAS), so as to stabilize the situations in those areas. Both sides indicated that they would like to maintain and enhance consultation and cooperation in international and regional affairs.