China and Libya established diplomatic relations on August 9, 1978. After the establishment of the new Libyan regime in 2011, China-Libya relations achieved a smooth transition. In September 2024, President of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed Younes Menfi came to China for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, during which China and Libya established a strategic partnership.

In recent years, China and Libya have maintained normal exchanges. Visits from the Libyan side for diplomatic events in China: Chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohammad Al-Manfi (September 2024), Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the National Unity Government Abdulhamid Aldabaiba (May 2024).

After the unrest in Libya in 2011, all Chinese projects under construction in the country were suspended. In 2024, the trade volume between China and Libya reached USD 4.75 billion, of which China's exports amounted to USD 3.59 billion and imports totaled USD 1.16 billion. China mainly exports mechanical and electrical products, textiles, and furniture, among others, and mainly imports crude oil and other products.

In September 2023, after the eastern part of Libya was hit by a hurricane, the Chinese government provided RMB 30 million of humanitarian aid to Libya, and the Red Cross Society of China provided USD 200,000 in cash assistance to the Libyan Red Crescent Society.

Since August 2014, the Chinese Embassy in Libya has been operating in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.