China Posts Double Digit Trade Increase with North Korea in First Half of 2017

China says its trade with North Korea rose in the first six months of 2017, compared to the same period the year before.

China's Customs Administration announced Thursday that trade with the international pariah North grew 10.5 percent to $$2.5 billion between January and June, with exports soaring to 29.1 percent during that period.

The figures are likely to increase calls for Beijing to pressure Pyongyang, its main diplomatic and economic ally, to curb its nuclear and missile testing program. U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at China's trade with North Korea in a tweet last week, claiming it had grown "almost 40 percent" in the first quarter of this year.

Trump angrily ended his tweet: "So much for China working with us -- but we had to give it a try!"

But Customs spokesman Huang Songping insisted China was upholding United Nations sanctions on North Korea, citing figures showing a 13.2 percent decline in imports from the regime during the same period, with sharp decreases every month since March.

中朝贸易2017年上半年出现两位数字涨幅

中国表示，2017年上半年中国对朝鲜的进出口总值跟去年同期相比有所增长。

中国海关总署星期四宣布，中国对朝鲜1月到6月的进出口总值25亿美元，同比增长10.5%，其中出口更是大幅上涨29.1%。

中国是朝鲜最主要的外交和经济盟友。中国公布的最新贸易数字很可能会增加国际社会对北京的呼吁，要求北京对平壤施加压力，限制朝鲜核武器和导弹试射项目。美国总统川普上星期在推特上批评中国对朝鲜的贸易，说中朝贸易今年第一季度增长幅度近40%。

川普在推文最后愤怒地写道：“中国就是这么跟我们合作的，但我们不得不努力一下。”

然而，中国海关总署发言人黄颂平坚持说，中国执行了联合国对朝鲜的制裁，并引用相关数据说，今年上半年中国从朝鲜的进口额降低了13.2%，三月份以来每个月都在大幅下降。