# China Pursues Port and Power Contracts in Sudan Before the War Ends

Beijing is negotiating with the army-backed government while most Western countries maintain only a limited presence, as developing states press for a larger role in setting global economic rules.

- Published: 2026-09-13T05:20:55.617Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-09-13/china-pursues-port-and-power-contracts-in-sudan-before-the-w
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: world
- Sources: [South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365972/china-bets-early-port-and-power-deals-sudan-secure-post-war-economic-edge), [Antara](https://en.antaranews.com/news/431151/indonesia-urges-greater-developing-country-role-in-global-governance)

China is negotiating port and power agreements with Sudan's army-backed government while the war continues, the [South China Morning Post reported](https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3365972/china-bets-early-port-and-power-deals-sudan-secure-post-war-economic-edge), positioning itself for reconstruction contracts at a point when most Western governments keep only a limited presence in the country. One analyst quoted in the report said Beijing is using the prospect of future investment as leverage in its current dealings with Port Sudan.

Sudan matters beyond its own borders. It sits on the Red Sea opposite the shipping lane the Houthis now dominate, it produces gold that has become an important channel for sanctioned finance, and its oil export infrastructure carries South Sudanese crude to the coast. Contracts signed with a government that controls part of a divided country carry obvious enforcement risk, which is the cost Beijing appears willing to accept in exchange for being first to secure these assets.

The same week, Indonesia's coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, [urged developing countries to claim a larger role in global economic governance](https://en.antaranews.com/news/431151/indonesia-urges-greater-developing-country-role-in-global-governance). The two stories describe one process from opposite ends. Middle-income states are asking for a bigger say in the institutions that set rules, while China is acquiring the assets those rules govern.

## What this means

Whoever holds Sudanese port and power concessions controls access to a Red Sea coastline that is becoming more strategically valuable as the southern approach to that sea is contested. Chinese contractors and lenders gain a position that Western firms cannot bid for while sanctions and security risk keep them out, and Sudan's government gains an investor that does not attach governance conditions. The cost is borne later, by whichever authority eventually governs the country and inherits the terms.

## What to watch

- Whether any Chinese port or power agreement in Sudan is formally signed rather than discussed, the point at which commitments become enforceable.
- Sudanese gold export routes, since gold is the country's main source of foreign exchange and the clearest measure of who controls its revenue.
- Whether other Global South governments follow Indonesia in pressing for institutional change at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which would indicate coordinated rather than isolated pressure.