Sharp fall in China’s trade with North Korea as UN sanctions bite
- Bilateral trade fell by more than half last year due to strict sanctions over nuclear programme
China’s trade with North Korea fell sharply last year, according to data released on Monday, as harsh UN sanctions batter the nuclear-armed country’s economy.
Beijing is a key ally of the isolated state and its main source of trade and aid – but in 2017 it backed United Nations measures to punish Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile activities.
The sanctions on trade in North Korea’s most valuable commodities sent bilateral trade plunging 52.4 per cent last year compared with 2017.
China’s imports from its neighbour dropped 88 per cent in 2018 year on year to 1.42 billion yuan (US$210 million), while its exports slumped 33.3 per cent to 14.7 billion yuan (US$2.18 billion), according to Chinese customs administration spokesman Li Kuiwen.
“For trade between China and North Korea, we are strictly implementing the resolutions of the [UN] Security Council,” Li said.
The trade sanctions seek to cut off the North’s access to hard currency by banning its main exports – coal and other mineral resources, fisheries and textile products.