China and North Korea open long-delayed Yalu River bridge after 12 years as trade ties warm
The new bridge spanning China's border river with North Korea, set to open Thursday after sitting unused since its completion in 2014, ending a decade-long bottleneck caused by sanctions, Covid and strained relations.A social-media post celebrating the Yalu River bridge opening, as the four-lane crossing replaces a single-lane 1943 structure that still carries over 70% of China-North Korea bilateral trade.
The New Yalu River Great Bridge, connecting Dandong in China with Sinuiju in North Korea, opened Thursday after a 12-year delay, with both countries marking the occasion at a joint ceremony. China covered the entire 2.2 billion yuan cost of the four-lane, 3,026-metre span and wrapped up its section in 2014, but worsening bilateral relations left North Korea without the access roads and customs facilities needed on its side. The opening follows a Kim Jong-un–Xi Jinping summit in Pyongyang in June and comes shortly after North Korea and Russia cut the ribbon on their first road bridge over the Tumen River.
The new bridge can accommodate large freight vehicles that the ageing, single-lane 1943 Friendship Bridge cannot, and freight volumes are expected to double.
Chinese exports to North Korea climbed 25 per cent last year to $2.3 billion, though that figure remained well short of pre-2017 sanctions levels.
South Korea and the US have accused both China and Russia of trading with North Korea in violation of UN sanctions — Beijing and Moscow now openly challenge the legitimacy of those Security Council resolutions.
