South Sudan: Chinese Development Finance Profile, 2000-2022
Date Published
Oct 10, 2025
Authors
Lea Thome, Katherine Walsh, Brooke Escobar
Publisher
Citation
Thome, L., Walsh, K., and Escobar, B. (2025). South Sudan: The Scale, Scope, and Composition of Chinese Development Finance. Williamsburg, VA: AidData at William & Mary.
Abstract
This country profile provides a detailed overview of the scale, scope, and composition of Chinese state-directed financing in South Sudan from 2000 to 2022. It includes granular information on key trends in China’s loan and grant-financed commitments, its lending portfolio, ESG risks in its infrastructure projects, and contractual safeguards adoption and implementation.
From 2000 to 2022, China directed $5.6 billion in loan and grant-financed commitments for 171 projects in South Sudan. Before South Sudan joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2018, nearly all (99%) of its financial flows from China (2013-2017) came through commodity prepayment arrangements. However, since 2018, China’s portfolio in South Sudan has shifted toward infrastructure development, including major projects like the construction of the Juba-Terekeka-Yirol-Rumbek Road.
The insights in this profile are derived from AidData’s Global Chinese Development Finance Dataset, Version 3.0 and the sources referenced therein. Additional 2022 data collection is based on a forthcoming dataset version launching in November 2025.
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