China Cancels $50 Million in Interest-Free Loans for Sudan in Port Sudan Deal

China agreed to cancel approximately $50 million in interest-free loans owed by Sudan, a deal signed in Port Sudan that cancels four interest-free loans worth 344 million yuan with immediate effect.

“La Chine a annulé un montant non spécifié de prêts sans intérêt accordés au Zimbabwe et s'est engagée à aider ce pays d'Afrique à trouver un moyen de sortir de la crise de la dette”

Africanews

Sudan’s state news agency SUNA said the protocol entered into force as of the signing date, with the Central Bank of Sudan and the China Development Bank handling procedures to settle the accounts for the debt relief.

Africanews

Al Jazeera reported that the waiver comes three years into a war between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has shrunk the country’s economy by roughly 40 percent, according to the United Nations.

The Sudanese Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim welcomed the move, saying China has continued investing in the country throughout the war while Western governments, including the United States and European Union members, have largely held back.

In the same reporting, China’s charge d’affaires in Sudan, Xu Jian, said at the signing ceremony that China was ready to help rebuild what was destroyed during the war in Sudan.

Al Jazeera said the $50m debt relief amounts to not even 1 percent of Sudan’s total external pre-war debt estimated at more than $56bn, and it described Khartoum as having few other international lenders extending financial support.

The Sudanese pound collapse was highlighted in Al Jazeera’s account, with the exchange rate going from roughly 600 to the dollar before the war to more than 5000 to the dollar by June 2026.

Al Jazeera

Africanews reported that in September 2023 Zimbabwe’s state-guaranteed debt stood at 17.7 billion dollars, including 12.7 billion dollars of external debt and 5 billion dollars of domestic debt, and it said China bought much of the external debt.

In the Sudan-focused reporting, the Jeune Afrique and France 24 items placed earlier debt relief efforts in a wider pattern of creditor engagement, with France pledging on May 17 to help Sudan lighten debt to re-enter international financial circuits and attract investors.

France 24 quoted Emmanuel Macron saying he was in favor of a pure and simple cancellation of France’s claim against Sudan, amounting to nearly $5 billion, at an international donor conference in Paris.

The Sudanese Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim signed the protocol on behalf of the Sudanese government, while Xiu Jian signed on behalf of the Chinese government, and the agreement was described as relieving four interest-free loans totaling 344,520,000 yuan, approximately 50 million dollars.

“Sudan's Ministry of Finance has signed an agreement with China to cancel part of the country's debt, with Beijing agreeing to write off four interest-free loans owed by Sudan totaling 344”

Dabanga Radio TV Online

In the Sudan Tribune account, the protocol took effect as of the signing date, with the Central Bank of Sudan and the China Development Bank to complete procedures related to the cancelled loans, and it said the two sides reviewed Chinese grant-funded projects including the West Omdurman Slaughterhouse project.

Dabanga Radio TV Online said the signing came just days after the United States announced a new raft of sanctions on Sudan, and it quoted the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control describing the sanctions as taking further action against those responsible for perpetuating violence and fuelling the war in Sudan.

Dabanga Radio TV Online also reported that the Prevention of External Aggression and Escalation of Conflict in Sudan Act of 2026 (or Peace in Sudan Act) forbids any financial support for developing the capacities of Sudanese government institutions or providing security and military assistance.

Across the coverage, Al Jazeera framed the waiver as a political and economic signal for Khartoum and Beijing, noting that Sudan’s war has displaced about 14 million people and that the waiver lands when Khartoum has few other international lenders willing to provide assistance.