China and Sudan Fact Sheet

This fact sheet summarizes China’s economic, political and military relationship with Sudan. It also assesses the evolution of China’s relationship with Darfur over the past year.

Economic Ties

• Oil: China is the world’s largest player in Sudan’s oil industry, with major roles in the development, extraction, and acquisition of Sudan’s oil. Oil accounts for 70% of Sudan’s total global exports ($5.25 billion in 2006). Reports suggest that a substantial majority of Sudan’s oil profits may go to the military.

• Foreign investment: China is the largest foreign investor in Sudan, with these investments centering on and of most benefit to Khartoum itself. Chinese firms are active in energy-related sectors of Sudan’s economy, including construction of oil pipelines, electricity and hydropower facilities, as well as in infrastructure development. China’s National Petroleum Company is the largest stakeholder in Sudan’s largest energy consortium, the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company.

• Trade: China is Sudan’s largest trading partner in the world – purchasing 71% of Sudan’s global exports, and providing 21% of its global imports. Sudan, in turn, is China’s third largest trading partner in Africa.

• Aid: China offers significant economic aid to Sudan. For example, during President Hu’s visit to Khartoum in February 2007 China agreed to write off $80 million in Sudanese public debt and to provide an interest-free, unconditional loan of $13 million for infrastructure projects, including a new presidential palace. China offers a modest amount of humanitarian assistance for Darfur.

Political Relations

• Bilateral ties: There is an active bilateral relationship between Beijing and Khartoum, including frequent high-level government visits and missions. President Hu Jintao of China visited Sudan in February 2007. China emphasizes that its economic ties and assistance to Sudan are not conditioned on that country’s human rights or political behavior. China has adopted a policy of “non-interference” in Sudanese domestic issues.

• Multilateral institutions: China has been the leading supporter of Sudan at the United Nations, and the major impediment to stronger UN Security Council action against the government of Sudan for its role in the mass killing and genocide in Darfur. China has thwarted or watered down several Security Council resolutions related to Darfur. China has prevented resolutions that would impose multilateral economic and diplomatic sanctions, and resisted efforts to sanction Sudanese officials charged with war crimes.

Military Cooperation

• Arms sales: Over the past decade and more, China has been the leading supplier of weapons and weapons technology to Sudan. Beijing defends its military sales to Khartoum as legal. UN and human rights organizations have reported sightings of Chinese-made small arms weapons, military trucks, and other war materiel being used by Sudanese government forces, and their janjaweed militia, in Darfur.

• Weapons factories: China helped establish three weapons manufacturing facilities in Sudan, including one that assembles T-55 tanks.

• Defense cooperation: China maintains a close defense relationship with Sudan, despite a UN-imposed arms embargo which has been in place for Darfur since 2005.

China’s relationship with Sudan over the past year

• Economic ties grew much closer: Trade between the two countries more than doubled in the first half of 2007. China has continued to sign new accords, such as major oil development agreements, that strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

• Humanitarian aid versus other types of assistance: China extended a small amount of humanitarian aid to the people of Darfur. Such aid was far less than the new support it provided to the government of Sudan. For example, China’s provision of a $13 million interest-free loan to construct a Presidential Palace for Sudan was by itself more than the entire amount of humanitarian aid it provided to Darfur in 2007.

• For part of 2007, China played a mixed role diplomatically: Through July, China did help facilitate the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1769 – creating the new UNAMID peacekeeping force – and encouraged Sudan to agree to other potential steps towards peace. It also appointed a special envoy to Sudan and contributed military engineers to UNAMID. On the other hand, China worked behind the scenes to significantly weaken the terms of 1769 (for example, stripping sanctions language that would have provided clear incentives for Sudan’s cooperation with UNAMID) and regularly mimicked Sudanese arguments that aim to sanitize the situation in Darfur.

• Since UNAMID’s passage, China reverted to supporting Khartoum: With one recent exception, China has remained silent as Sudan has blocked the rapid and effective deployment of UNAMID, renewed its violent actions towards Darfurians, and undermined the humanitarian situation. China has blocked additional UN actions to pressure Sudan to change its behavior.

• Military relationship remains troubling. Two studies released in 2007 by well-respected organizations have fueled concerns that weapons from China are being used against the people of Darfur, and that China is not doing enough to prevent such usage. Also, in the spring of 2007, China indicated its desire to further its military relationship with Sudan “in every sphere.”