Business
Sudan seeks to work with China in yuan – looking to ditch the dollar
“We believe that very soon China will become the number one economic power in the world,” Zubeir said.
The loss of oil revenues has helped to drive up the cost of food and other imports, fuelling inflation and biting an economy already hit hard by decades of war, mismanagement and U.S. trade sanctions.
Sudanese officials say they plan to implement an austerity programme and make up for lost oil revenues with agriculture, gold, and other sources of income.
South Sudan broke away in July after voting for independence under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war between north and south.
Sudan was China’s sixth biggest source of imported crude oil last year, before the split, when it supplied 12.6 million tonnes, compared with 44.6 million tonnes from the top supplier, Saudi Arabia.
Khartoum’s proposal to China does not include at all South Sudan which is fully independent, has its own currency, and has scant policy coordination with its northern neighbor.
