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China–North Korea relations (Korean: 조중 관계) are bilateral between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea).
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China maintains an embassy in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and a consulate general in Chongjin. The Embassy of North Korea in China is located in Beijing's Chaoyang District, while a consulate general is in Shenyang.
China and North Korea have, in the past, enjoyed close diplomatic relations. However, China–North Korea relations have declined markedly over the past few years. The decline in China–North Korea relations is primarily due to growing concern in China over issues such as North Korea's nuclear weapons program and its impoundment of Chinese fishing boats.
Favorable views of North Korea among Chinese people appear to be receding as well. According to a 2014 BBC World Service Poll, 20% of Chinese people view North Korea's influence positively, with 46% expressing a negative view.
History
The People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea exchanged diplomatic recognition on 6 October 1949.
In May 1950, Kim Il-sung secretly visited Beijing to brief Mao Zedong and the Chinese leadership on his war plans. Following setbacks sustained by the Korean People's Army and the crossing of the 38th parallel by the United Nations Command, in October 1950 China entered the Korean War in support of North Korea. In addition to dispatching the Chinese People's Volunteers to Korea to fight against the United Nations Command, China also received North Korean refugees and students and provided economic aid during the war. Following the signing of the Korean War Armistice in 1953, China, along with members of the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union, provided extensive economic assistance to Pyongyang to support the reconstruction and economic development of North Korea.
In 1961, the two countries signed the Sino-North Korean Mutual Aid and Cooperation Friendship Treaty, whereby China pledged to immediately render military and other assistance by all means to its ally against any outside attack. This treaty was prolonged twice, in 1981 and 2001, with a validity until 2021.
Since 2003, the PRC has been a participant in six-party talks aimed at resolving the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
On 1 January 2009, Chinese President Hu Jintao and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il exchanged greetings and declared 2009 as the "year of China–DPRK friendship", marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Yang Jiechi said that China "resolutely" opposes the latest nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The North Korean ambassador to China, Ji Jae Ryong, was personally informed of this position on 12 February 2013 in a meeting with Yang Jiechi.
On 5 May 2013, North Korea "grabbed", according to Jiang Yaxian, a Chinese government official, another Chinese fishing boat in a series of impounding Chinese fishing boats. "North Korea was demanding 600,000 yuan ($97,600) for its safe return, along with its 16 crew." According to a New York Times article in December 2014, relations had reached a low point.
In 2016, right after the North Korean nuclear test in January tensions between the PRC and the DPRK have further grown, the reaction of China was, "We strongly urge the DPRK side to remain committed to its denuclearization commitment, and stop taking any actions that would make the situation worse," spokesperson Hua Chunying said. On 24 February 2016 the United States and China introduced new sanctions against the North Korean regime conducted within the UN context.
In March 2016 the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a missile factory, which China strongly condemned, in a report by the state newspaper the People's Daily revealed that the North Korean politics causes instability on the Korean Peninsula and is comparable to the situation in Syria.
Border
China and North Korea share a 1,416-kilometer long border that corresponds to the course of the Yalu and Tumen rivers.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many ethnic Koreans in Northeast China crossed the border into North Korea to escape economic hardship and famine in China. In recent years, the flow of refugees has reversed, with a considerable number of North Koreans fleeing to China. Much of China's trade with the DPRK goes through the port of Dandong on the Yalu River.
In February 1997, tourist access to the bridge over the Tumen at Wonjong-Quanhe was allowed.
In May 2012, China and North Korea signed an agreement on the construction and management of the cross-border bridge between Manpo in the Jagang Province of North Korea and Jian in China.
In 2015, a single rogue North Korean soldier killed four ethnic Korean citizens of China who lived along the border of China with North Korea.
Economic relations
China's economic assistance to North Korea accounts for about half of all Chinese foreign aid. Beijing provides the aid directly to Pyongyang, thereby enabling it to bypass the United Nations.
During the period of severe food shortage between 1996 and 1998, Beijing provided unconditional food aid to North Korea.
Trade
China is North Korea's largest trade partner, while North Korea ranked 82nd on the list of China's trade partners (2009 estimate) China provides about half of all North Korean imports and received a quarter of its exports.
By 2011 trade had increased to $5.6 billion (₩5.04 trillion). Trade with China represents 57% of North Korea's imports and 42% of its exports. Chinese statistics for 2013 indicate that North Korean exports to China were nearly $3 billion, with imports of about $3.6 billion.
In February 2017, China restricted all coal imports from North Korea until 2018. This is considered to be extremely harmful to the North Korean economy with coal being the top export of the nation and China being their top trading partner. It is speculated that this occurred because of a mix of events, including recent nuclear tests, the suspected assassination of Kim Jong-nam and pressure on China from the rest of the world to stop supplying a controversial state.
Banking
On 7 May 2013, Bank of China, China's biggest foreign exchange bank and other Chinese banks closed the account of North Korea's main foreign exchange bank.
Investments
In 2012, a $45 million investment by China's Haicheng Xiyang Group into an iron-ore powder processing plant failed under what the Chinese called "a nightmare". On February 21, 2016 China quietly ended financial support of North Korea without any media publicity. It is reported to be due to the fallout of relations between the two governments.
Military relations
During the Korean War from 1950–53, China assisted North Korea, sending as many as 3 million soldiers, known as the People's Volunteer Army, to support North Korean forces fighting the South Korean and UN on the Korean peninsula. As many as 180,000 Chinese soldiers were killed.
Since the end of the Korean conflict, the two states have closely cooperated in security and defense issues. In 1975, Kim Il-sung visited Beijing in a failed attempt to solicit support from China for a military invasion of South Korea. On 23 November 2009, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie visited Pyongyang, the first defense chief to visit since 2006.