On July 9, 2011, the Republic of South Sudan was officially founded, and on the same day, China and South Sudan established diplomatic relations. In September 2024, President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan came to China for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, during which China and South Sudan established a strategic partnership.
The two sides have maintained political exchanges. Visits from the Chinese side to South Sudan mainly include: Special Envoy of President Hu Jintao and Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin (July 2011), Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi (August 2011), Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, and Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee Li Yuanchao (January 2012), and Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Liu Xincheng (December 2019).
Visits from the South Sudanese side to China or to attend diplomatic events in China: President Salva Kiir Mayardit (April 2012, August 2018, September 2024), Vice President and Deputy Chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement James Wani Igga (July 2014).
China is one of South Sudan's main trading partners. In 2024, the total trade volume between China and South Sudan reached USD 466 million, of which China's exports amounted to USD 166 million and imports totaled USD 300 million. In September 2024, China announced that it would offer South Sudan zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines.
The people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and South Sudan have been growing steadily. Since 2017, China has carried out two phases of educational technology assistance projects in South Sudan, producing and printing textbooks for primary and secondary schools. In January 2025, the China Cultural Center at the University of Juba in South Sudan was officially inaugurated.
Since 2012, China has sent medical teams to South Sudan from Anhui Province.