The US is investigating a number of Chinese companies for suspected breaches of sanctions on North Korea, as China steps up efforts to crack down on violators.
Daniel Russel, senior US diplomat for East Asia, was quoted by Reuters as saying that although China had agreed to a tough round of UN sanctions, there was much more it could be doing to ensure the proper implementation of existing sanctions and by agreeing to new steps.
"We recognize that changing Chinese behavior is a prerequisite for changing North Korea's behavior," Russel said.
It's the US' latest move to tighten the noose around violators of UN sanctions, after the US Treasury Department said Monday that it was slapping sanctions on Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Company for using proxy companies to violate sanctions on North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that China has faithfully implemented UN Resolution 2270, especially on intensifying checks on any exports of military-related products, suspending financial services and cutting off aircraft fuel supplies to North Korea since March.
UN Resolution 2270 is the toughest sanction on North Korea so far.
"However some companies located on the border have relations with North Korea. They may evade the sanctions for financial gain. And the Chinese government is cracking down on these violators, Lü said.
Lioaning's public security department announced on its official Sina Weibo on September 15 that they have placed Dandong Hongxiang and its executives under investigation for "serious economic crimes involving trade activities."
It is unfair to imply that China has not fully implemented UN sanctions since March, and the US should not blame China because the sanctions have little effect on stopping further North Korean nuclear tests, Lü said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Tuesday that any person or company found breaching UN regulations will be punished, and, if necessary, China will cooperate with other countries on this on the basis of mutual respect and equality.
Geng also noted that China opposes any country which uses domestic laws to carry out "long-arm jurisdiction" against Chinese entities or individuals.
Jin Qiangyi, director of the Asia Studies Center at Yanbian University, told the Global Times on Thursday that local governments of border areas are in a dilemma since border trade has become one of their main businesses, and that the central government should provide support to enforce the sanctions.
The US has also urged the UN Security Council to address a provision that allows China to import coal and iron ore from North Korea. Washington suspects this has influenced the sanctions' economic leverage against the North, AP reported on Wednesday.
The Nikkei Asian Review reported that coal accounts for nearly 40 percent of Pyongyang's trade with China.
Imports of gold, iron ore and coal from North Korea have recently dropped but not halted in deference to the North Koreans' livelihood, Jin said
Jin noted that major ports in Shandong and Liaoning that used to import coal from North Korea report limited coal imports from that country in recent months.
The Korea Herald reported that China's exports to North Korea show a drop of 27.6 percent to $193 million in July from the same period in 2015. And China's imports from North Korea dropped by 5 percent from a year ago at $227 million.
"China will also fulfill its international obligations if the UN tightens sanctions on the North after its largest explosion this month. But any sanctions should be under the UN framework since any unilateral activity or threat of the use of force especially from the US may deteriorate the situation on the Korean Peninsula," said Lü.
Four days after North Korea's fifth nuclear weapons test on September 9, the US Air Force responded with a show of force to the North, flying two powerful, supersonic B-1 bombers over South Korea, according to CNN.
US patience toward North Korea has dwindled, and the international community should not count on economic sanctions without a subsequent response, Jin said, adding that all concerned parties should work together to come up with more practical measures.
[globaltimes.cn]
30/9/16
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Related:
Daniel Russel, senior US diplomat for East Asia, was quoted by Reuters as saying that although China had agreed to a tough round of UN sanctions, there was much more it could be doing to ensure the proper implementation of existing sanctions and by agreeing to new steps.
"We recognize that changing Chinese behavior is a prerequisite for changing North Korea's behavior," Russel said.
It's the US' latest move to tighten the noose around violators of UN sanctions, after the US Treasury Department said Monday that it was slapping sanctions on Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Company for using proxy companies to violate sanctions on North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that China has faithfully implemented UN Resolution 2270, especially on intensifying checks on any exports of military-related products, suspending financial services and cutting off aircraft fuel supplies to North Korea since March.
UN Resolution 2270 is the toughest sanction on North Korea so far.
"However some companies located on the border have relations with North Korea. They may evade the sanctions for financial gain. And the Chinese government is cracking down on these violators, Lü said.
Lioaning's public security department announced on its official Sina Weibo on September 15 that they have placed Dandong Hongxiang and its executives under investigation for "serious economic crimes involving trade activities."
It is unfair to imply that China has not fully implemented UN sanctions since March, and the US should not blame China because the sanctions have little effect on stopping further North Korean nuclear tests, Lü said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Tuesday that any person or company found breaching UN regulations will be punished, and, if necessary, China will cooperate with other countries on this on the basis of mutual respect and equality.
Geng also noted that China opposes any country which uses domestic laws to carry out "long-arm jurisdiction" against Chinese entities or individuals.
Jin Qiangyi, director of the Asia Studies Center at Yanbian University, told the Global Times on Thursday that local governments of border areas are in a dilemma since border trade has become one of their main businesses, and that the central government should provide support to enforce the sanctions.
- No halt
The US has also urged the UN Security Council to address a provision that allows China to import coal and iron ore from North Korea. Washington suspects this has influenced the sanctions' economic leverage against the North, AP reported on Wednesday.
The Nikkei Asian Review reported that coal accounts for nearly 40 percent of Pyongyang's trade with China.
Imports of gold, iron ore and coal from North Korea have recently dropped but not halted in deference to the North Koreans' livelihood, Jin said
Jin noted that major ports in Shandong and Liaoning that used to import coal from North Korea report limited coal imports from that country in recent months.
The Korea Herald reported that China's exports to North Korea show a drop of 27.6 percent to $193 million in July from the same period in 2015. And China's imports from North Korea dropped by 5 percent from a year ago at $227 million.
"China will also fulfill its international obligations if the UN tightens sanctions on the North after its largest explosion this month. But any sanctions should be under the UN framework since any unilateral activity or threat of the use of force especially from the US may deteriorate the situation on the Korean Peninsula," said Lü.
Four days after North Korea's fifth nuclear weapons test on September 9, the US Air Force responded with a show of force to the North, flying two powerful, supersonic B-1 bombers over South Korea, according to CNN.
US patience toward North Korea has dwindled, and the international community should not count on economic sanctions without a subsequent response, Jin said, adding that all concerned parties should work together to come up with more practical measures.
[globaltimes.cn]
30/9/16
-
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North Korea says China offered flood assistance
Hongxiang Industrial is suspected of sending aluminum oxide to North Korea, which can be used in developing the centrifuges used in uranium enrichment.
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