CINA

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丹東/신의주

Dandong and Sinuiju - two cities on the border between the P.R. China and N. Korea

From the Friendship Bridge to the Line of Divorce

The Chinese border city of Dandong is North Korea's most important gateway to the outside world. Now, though, the booming metropolis will become a litmus test to determine China's commitment to UN sanctions.
 

Trucks wait in a rumbling line to cross the bridge over the Yalu River. They're fully loaded as they cross the river into North Korea -- the semi-trailers, though, tend to be empty on the return run back to China. The poor, isolated country simply doesn't have much to offer in return for the electronic goods, hardware, fruit, clothes, oil and grain China exports to North Korea. The goods are unloaded as soon as they cross the river -- North Korean trucks carry them further into the country.

The remote border crossing, which hosts a lion's share of the commerce between China and North Korea -- which amounted to some $500 million last year -- has hardly received much of the world's attention in the past. But that may soon change. The sanctions passed by the UN Security Council against North Korea Saturday -- in response to the country's apparent testing of a nuclear bomb just over a week ago -- will also have to be enforced here. Indeed, one of the most pressing political questions currently facing the world will have to be settled in the border town of Dandong: How serious is Beijing about reprimanding its tiny neighbor and its leader Kim Jong Il?

For the time being, China is still in step with the world community. Controls along the border will be tightened in accord with the Security Council resolution. But trade with North Korea can be profitable -- and it's in China's economic interest to let it flourish.

The largest border city in China lies just over the Yalu River from the tiny Stalinist nation -- a booming economic metropolis just opposite profound and bitter poverty. The North Korean town is called Sinuiju. Every day in Sinuiju, people gather anxiously waiting for Chinese trucks and trains to make their way across the border. Indeed, without Chinese imports the troubles in North Korea would be even worse.

Dandong Booms, the Metropolis Gleams

Trade across the Yalu has a long tradition going back at least to the 14th century Ming Dynasty. Back then, the economic relationship was roughly eye-to-eye. Now Kim Jong Il's regime in Pyongyang relies on the grace and favor of rulers in Beijing, both politically and economically. Imports from China keep North Korea's wobbly Stalinist regime intact -- exports in the other direction amount to little more than a trickle.

Chinese street vendor in Dandong selling DPRK trash

It's a good deal for China. North Korea's elite is not just eager to buy but loyal because their isolated government has no choice but to deal with Chinese businessmen. Dandong, in particular, holds a near-monopoly on trade with North Korea and the last few years have been good for the city and its 2.4 million residents. Countless industrial firms have moved to town: machinery, paper and textiles are now produced in Dandong. Modern skyscrapers and Korean restaurants line the riverbank and chic businesses have crowded the city center.

NK riverboat on Yalu/Amnok-gang

Sinuiju turns off the power at night

Chinese tourists are also coming to Dandong. Just like the "Wall tourists" in pre-1989 Berlin, they want a glimpse of North Korea from across the water. The excursion includes a boat tour right up close to the other shore, for a souvenir snapshot -- and there are plenty of telescopes on the bank available for those afraid of the water. But there isn't much to see on the other side besides a rusty old Ferris wheel. Sometimes one can spot North Korean kids playing in the sand, red Communist youth scarves wrapped around their necks. Some visitors venture out onto the old bridge across the Yalu River that was destroyed by US fighter planes in the Korean War. The bridge is passable to the halfway point, where a small museum commemorates the battles. Traders sell souvenirs in the form of North Korean postal stamps and memorabilia of North Korea's founding president, Kim Il Sung.

KPA border guard unit

A wholly different picture emerges on the other side of the river. There, in Sinuiju, people look at the flashy Dandong with great envy. Every night, the Chinese city shines bright. But North Korea's Shinuiju is pitch-dark due to a chronic power shortage. Very few are granted visas to cross the river into China -- many make their way across anyway, under cover of darkness.

NK "happiness"..

..on the other side of Yalu/Amnok-gang

Smuggling has flourished in recent years and Chinese border officials are in the habit of turning a blind eye to the illegal trade. Indeed, it is this illegal trade which leads many in the US government to doubt China's commitment to enforcing the UN sanctions. China has committed itself to prevent trade in luxury goods -- a provision aimed at North Korea's tiny elite -- and goods that could be useful to a nuclear weapons program.

A historic bulwark against refugees

China's main priority, though, has been to prevent cross-border traffic of an entirely different nature. Many North Koreans are interested in more than just a bit of trade with China -- rather they often want to leave the misery of their poverty-stricken country completely behind them. Tens of thousands have already crossed the border and China is interested in stemming the flow.

Indeed, at almost precisely the same time as the Security Council voted in favor of sanctions, Chinese authorities began constructing a 20-kilometer long barbed wire fence. It's the first time China has erected a physical barrier to keep North Koreans out.

China's justification: A mass exodus from North Korea could further destabilize the volatile neighbor. The political and financial ramifications would be fatal for the region. But the bulwark comes at just the right time for China. A stampede out of North Korea is the nightmare scenario for Beijing -- but eminently possible. Especially if the sanctions are too tough or if North Korea's conflict with the US and the world escalates.

The Friendship Bridge between Dandong and Sinuiju

More about the current developments on the PRC/DPRK relationship you can read here:

!!! China to set action on North Norea (IHT/NYT, 10.19)

China pulls its punches on North Korea (Asia Times)

All teeth and lips - for now