Sudan’s military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, met China’s Ambassador Zhang Xianghua in Port Sudan on Tuesday to discuss bilateral ties and oil issues, particularly the imminent resumption of South Sudanese oil exports transiting Sudan.

The meeting addressed “ways to enhance and develop relations between the two countries, especially in the oil sector… following the arrival of South Sudanese oil at the Bashayer Port,” Acting Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Idris Ismail said in a statement.

Al-Burhan also gave the ambassador a message for China’s president regarding the oil matter, Ismail added.

Ambassador Zhang praised the Sudanese government’s efforts towards peace, stability, and ending the ongoing war, according to Ismail.

The discussions come as South Sudan’s oil exports are expected to resume in early May after a two-year stoppage caused by Sudan’s internal conflict. Pumping to the Bashayer export terminal on Sudan’s Red Sea coast has reportedly restarted following repairs to damage on the transit pipeline.

Before the halt, South Sudan exported around 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil via the 1,131-kilometre (703-mile) pipeline running from its Upper Nile State to Bashayer Port.

Ambassador Zhang said the talks also covered strengthening bilateral cooperation and implementing outcomes from last year’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing, which al-Burhan attended.

Relevant Sudanese ministries are coordinating on the implementation of the FOCAC outcomes, Zhang added.