Trade between China and North Korea is rebounding after the pandemic; May further increase with the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations

SHENYANG, China — Trade between China and North Korea is trending toward recovery, and that appears to be what China is aiming for in supporting its U.N.-sanctioned neighbor.

Their bilateral economic activities may further increase this year, which marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

On a day in mid-May, more than fifteen large trucks and trailers slowly crossed the so-called “China-North Korea Friendship Bridge,” an iron bridge connecting Dandong, China’s Liaoning province, with Sinuiju, North Korea.

The aging bridge creaked with every vehicle that rolled over it. As drivers waited in a growing queue to clear customs, a traffic jam formed – a sight that would have been unthinkable last October. According to locals, there are days when more than 50 trucks cross the bridge.

In the parking lot of a clothing and home goods store in Dandong, a Chinese worker tried to cram as much cargo as possible into the back of a truck. When asked about the contents, the man admitted that it was being transported to North Korea, but he soon ran away without explaining what was inside.

The overall value of trade between China and North Korea began to decline in 2020 when their border was closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Now that land trade by rail and truck has resumed, it is on the road to recovery.

According to Chinese customs authorities, the total value of trade between China and North Korea rose to $2.3 billion (about ¥358.3 billion) in 2023, 80% of what it was in 2019, just before the pandemic.

The main commodity is wigs: China exports human hair to North Korea, where it is made into wigs that are then exported back to China. Wigs accounted for more than half of North Korea’s exports to China in April.

“Wigs are a valuable way to earn foreign currency, and they are not subject to economic sanctions,” a diplomatic source said, referring to the economic sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council.

Both countries are positioning this year, which marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them, as a ‘year of friendship’. Senior officials from both countries visited each other.

In April, Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and third in the hierarchy of the Communist Party of China, met in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and they agreed on a policy to promote cooperation to further develop. relationship between China and North Korea.

The focus going forward will be on whether and when another bridge, the approximately three-kilometer-long “Yalu River Bridge,” construction of which began in Dandong in 2010, will finally be opened.

Although it has been pointed out that construction of customs clearance facilities on the North Korean side is progressing slowly, some people expect the bridge to open in October, the month of the 75th anniversary.

However, a source connected to China-North Korea trade said: “North Korea is assessing how much profit it will gain from the opening of the bridge.” The source indicated that if North Korea judges that its trade deficit will widen further, the bridge will not be opened so quickly.