China’s solar panels shine spotlight on North Korea trade

– Immune from sanctions? –

China on Tuesday started banning imports of iron, iron ore and seafood from North Korea as it implements the new UN sanctions, which could cost Pyongyang $1 billion per year and were imposed after its two intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

But in Dandong, where some 70 percent of trade between China and North Korea flows, solar panel merchants remain unfazed.

“It seems that overall, there are fewer North Korean traders coming over recently, but we’re not affected by what’s happening politically,” said Shi Zhiyong, manager of the Huang Ming Solar Power shop.

“In 2009, I started seeing more North Korean traders coming to the store and their numbers have only gone up since,” Shi told AFP.

Both Yuan and Shi said their best-selling items are rooftop units that provide hot water supply. These cost between 2,700 and 14,000 yuan ($400 and $2,060).

The purchases by households, offices and factories show that many urban residents have adequate disposable income, Johns Hopkins University researcher Curtis Melvin told AFP.

“Aside from a few high-profile cases, such as the increase in fuel prices in North Korea or temporary suspension of coal exports to China, we haven’t seen much evidence that (previous) sanctions have had a tremendously negative effect on North Korea’s economy,” Melvin added.

– Dried ants –

Sino-US relations have soured as President Donald Trump has pressed Beijing to step up pressure on North Korea, complaining about their continuing trade.

In the first half, trade between China and North Korea increased 10.5 percent to $2.5 billion, compared to the same period last year.

The Chinese government has defended its trade with North Korea, noting that the UN sanctions do not apply to all commerce — though AFP journalists recently visited Dandong shops that sold jewellery made with banned North Korean gold.

An array of goods flow both ways.

Shops along Dandong’s waterfront offer North Korean ginseng, dried mushrooms and even dried ants, which are meant to be good for joint pain, according to traditional Chinese medicine.

Marc Lanteigne, senior lecturer at Massey University Center for Defence and Security Studies, said China has frequently “drawn connections between peace-building and combating poverty, and stressed that complete economic isolation of North Korea is both counter-productive and dangerous.”