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China waives Sudan loan
China has waived $50m in loans it had given to Sudan, with the two countries saying the agreement was signed in Port Sudan and takes effect immediately, canceling four interest-free loans worth 344 million yuan.
“China has waived loans worth $50m that it had given to Sudan, the two countries said over the weekend”
Sudan’s Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim welcomed the move, and the protocol was signed by Gibril Ibrahim on behalf of Sudan and by Xu Jian, China’s charge d’affaires in Sudan, on behalf of China.
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.
Al Jazeera also links the timing to Khartoum’s limited options for other international lenders, saying Western governments have largely held back or imposed sanctions.
Dabanga Radio TV Online adds that the Central Bank of Sudan and the China Development Bank will carry out the procedures required to settle the accounts related to the cancelled loans.
Sanctions backdrop and signatories
Dabanga Radio TV Online says the signing came just days after the United States announced a new round of sanctions on Sudan, described as "taking further action against those responsible for perpetuating violence, obstructing peace efforts, and fuelling the war in Sudan."
Jeune Afrique’s earlier debt-cancellation context is framed around Emmanuel Macron’s 2021 decision to cancel nearly $5 billion in French claims on Sudan, with Macron recalling a May 17 Paris conference intended "to 'mobilize the international community'".
In the China-Sudan deal, Sudan’s Ministry of Finance signed the agreement to cancel four interest-free loans totaling 344.52 million Chinese yuan (CNY), equivalent to about $50 million, and the protocol takes effect immediately upon signature, according to Dabanga Radio TV Online.
Jeune Afrique also quotes Macron saying it was necessary to "move forward as quickly as possible to rid Sudan of its external debt," tying debt relief to broader diplomatic and economic efforts.
SUNA is cited by Al Jazeera as saying the signed protocol in Port Sudan cancels four interest-free loans with immediate effect, while Dabanga Radio TV Online identifies the signatories as Dr Jibril Ibrahim and Xu Jian.
Debt relief, reconstruction hopes
Al Jazeera says Sudan’s external debt was estimated at more than $56bn before the war, and it describes the $50m debt relief as amounting to not even 1 percent of the total external pre-war debt.
“Sudan: why and how Emmanuel Macron 'canceled' $5 billion of debt”
The same Al Jazeera piece says the waiver lands when Khartoum has few other international lenders extending financial support, and it notes that Gibril Ibrahim was added to the US Treasury sanctions list in September 2025 for alleged involvement in Sudan’s brutal civil war and connections to Iran.
Dabanga Radio TV Online reports that officials praised economic cooperation, with Jibril describing the long-standing and distinguished economic relationship between Sudan and China, and it says the minister welcomed China’s decision to remove customs duties on goods imported from 50 African countries.
Sudan Tarbiyun and Sahifa al-Sudani both describe the protocol as signed in Port Sudan and entering into force as of the signing date, with the Central Bank of Sudan and the China Development Bank handling procedures to settle the accounts related to the debt relief.
Sahifa al-Sudani adds that the two sides reviewed Chinese grants for projects including the West Omdurman Slaughterhouse project and a grant announced by the Chinese president worth 200 million yuan for energy, water, and agricultural projects.
