Beijing: Trade between North Korea and China surpassed 2.94 billion Chinese yuan (US$427 million) in the January-February period this year, marking the highest amount in nine years, Chinese data showed Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, China's exports to North Korea amounted to 2.31 billion yuan, while imports reached 625.6 million yuan during the two-month period. This represents a combined 19.6 percent increase from the trade volume recorded a year earlier, as per data from China's General Administration of Customs.
The two-month figure marks the highest level since 2017, when trade reached 5.37 billion yuan. This increase signals a recovery in bilateral trade as the two countries move to mend ties that were strained by Pyongyang's military alignment with Russia.
China remains North Korea's largest trading partner. However, annual bilateral trade had plunged to 16.1 billion yuan in 2018 from 34.31 billion yuan in 2017, following China's decision to join U.N. Security Council actions imposing sanctions against North Korea.
Trade suffered further due to COVID-19 border controls, shrinking to 2.05 billion yuan in 2021 before beginning a gradual rebound. Annual trade amounted to 19.5 billion yuan last year, up 26 percent from the previous year.
North Korea and China last week resumed international rail service between their capitals for the first time in six years, as the two countries continue to mend strained ties.