PARIS - Sudan's allies rallied round President Omar al-Beshir Thursday after he was hit with a war crimes arrest warrant, with China and Africa calling for the case to be suspended.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the European Union said the veteran leader should answer accusations of responsibility for mass deaths and rapes in Darfur, but there was a growing backlash against the International Criminal Court's move.

African Union officials held an emergency meeting to discuss the first ICC warrant against a sitting head of state as Beshir's key ally China came out against the warrant.

"China expresses its regretfulness and worry over the arrest warrant for the Sudan president issued by the International Criminal Court," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

Qin called on the UN Security Council to "respect calls by the African Union, Arab League and Non-Aligned Movement... and call on the International Criminal Court not to hear this case for the time being."

The ICC issued a warrant Wednesday for the arrest of the 65-year-old Beshir on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur where the UN says 300,000 people have been killed in a six-year conflict.

Beshir on Thursday ordered the expulsion of 10 foreign aid organisations and called for African nations to withdraw from the ICC.

Analysts say however there is little prospect of Beshir being hauled before the court with world powers deeply divided over the merits of the warrant.

China is an ally and military supplier for Beshir's government, and its energy-guzzling economy relies on Sudan for oil imports.

Russia has also criticised the warrant, with President Dmitry Medvedev's envoy for Sudan saying it sets a "dangerous precedent".

The African Union, which has expressed "deep concern" at the decision, convened a special session of its peace and security council at its Addis Ababa headquarters to discuss its response.

South Africa's Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said her government supported an agreement by the AU last month to lobby for a one-year suspension in the case.

"South Africa concurs with the African Union's initial response that the ICC's decision is regrettable as it will impact negatively on the current peace processes in the Sudan," Zuma said.

UN General Assembly president Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a Nicaraguan, said he thought the warrant "is more a decision motivated by political considerations than really for the sake of advancing the cause of justice in the world."

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said his country had "concerns" about the impact of the warrant, while Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said the "unfair" warrant was politically motivated.

In contrast, Clinton said the ICC had made the proper decision to seek Beshir's arrest and that he should now argue his case in court.

"President Beshir will have a chance to have his day in court if he believes that the indictment is wrongly charged. He can certainly contest it," she told reporters travelling with her to Brussels.

"The ICC has issued an indictment based on a very long investigation and it is now in a judicial system, properly so," she said.

Sudan has long been the target of US sanctions and the American military bombed Khartoum a decade ago.

Britain, France, Germany and the European Union have all urged Sudan to fully cooperate with the warrant. The EU highlighted the ICC's "key role in the promotion of international justice."

Speaking at a rally in Khartoum on Thursay, Beshir dismissed the warrant, saying "the true criminals are the leaders of the United States and Europe."