Lack of leverage by army-backed government in Khartoum may allow Chinese firms to secure favourable investment terms
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenJevans NyabiagePublished: 12:00pm, 13 Sep 2026China is moving early to secure a role in Sudan’s reconstruction, pursuing port and power agreements with the army-backed government while the war continues and many Western countries maintain only a limited presence.One expert also said Beijing was using the prospect of future investment as a bilateral incentive to encourage warring parties to cease hostilities.
“Sudan appears to [have] become the next test case for China’s peace-through-development approach,” said Tim Zajontz, interim professor of international relations at the University of Freiburg.
03:10‘This is a transitional period’: Who are the generals behind the Sudan conflict?Although many foreign embassies, including that of the United States, suspended operations after fighting began, China maintained diplomatic operations in Port Sudan.
