CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR: “China’s trade with North Korea has risen despite Beijing’s promise to enforce U.N. sanctions over the North’s nuclear program, but Chinese purchases of most North Korean exports have fallen.
Customs data show total trade in the first five months of this year rose 15 percent from a year earlier, driven by North Korea’s purchases of Chinese oil and consumer goods. China bought more iron ore but suspended purchases of coal, a key North Korean revenue source.
Trump wants Beijing to use its status as North Korea’s only significant ally, trading partner and aid donor to pressure it to renounce nuclear development. Chinese leaders express growing frustration with North Korea but have resisted pressure to push harder for fear leader Kim Jong Un’s government might collapse.
Total trade in the first five months of this year was just over 14 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), a tiny sum for China, the world’s biggest trader. But the relationship with North Korea, which shares a border with China, is politically significant.”
-Joe McDonald, “China trade with North Korea up but imports off,” The Washington Post online, July 6, 2017 07:27am