美敦促中國利用中朝貿易遏制朝鮮核野心

When North Korean traders give Li Jian long lists of the goods they want to buy, he checks the items against a 236-page Chinese translation of the UN sanctions imposed after Kim Jong Un’s regime conducted a fifth nuclear weapons test in September.

每當朝鮮貿易商給李建（音譯）出示長長的採購清單，李建就會拿出236頁的聯合國最新對朝制裁中譯本一一對照。這些制裁是在去年9月朝鮮進行第5次核武器試驗之後實施的。

“If it’s on the sanctions list, we can’t provide it,” Mr Li said from his office in downtown Dandong, the Chinese border city through which about 70 per cent of Sino-North Korean trade passes. “Even if we did, the goods would be detained at [Chinese] customs.”

“如果是制裁清單上的貨物，我們就不能提供，”李建在他位於丹東市中心的辦公室裏說道，“即使我們提供了，貨物在（中國）海關也會被扣押。”丹東是中國邊境城市，大約70%的中朝貿易從這裏通關。

At the weekend, US President Donald Trump said that the Chinese government could, and should, do more to rein in Mr Kim’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. “China is very much the economic lifeline to North Korea,” he wrote in a tweet. “So while nothing is easy, if they want to solve the North Korean problem, they will.”

上週末，美國總統唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)表示，中國政府能夠、也應當爲遏制朝鮮的核武器與彈道導彈計劃採取更多措施。他在Twitter上發帖稱：“中國在很大程度上是朝鮮的經濟命脈，因此，雖說凡事不容易，但如果他們想解決朝鮮問題，他們就能辦到。”

On the Australian leg of his 10-day regional tour, Mr Trump’s vice-president implied that Beijing was already doing more to apply pressure to North Korea. “We are encouraged by the steps that China has taken so far,” Mike Pence said on Saturday.

在爲期10天的亞太之行中，美國副總統邁克?彭斯(Mike Pence)在訪問澳大利亞時暗示，北京方面已開始採取更多措施向朝鮮施加壓力。“中國迄今採取的措施讓我們感到鼓舞，”彭斯上週六說。

The US and its allies are maintaining the military pressure on Pyongyang as well as urging China to use its trade ties to rein in North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. On Sunday, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force, its navy, confirmed that two of its destroyers would rendezvous with the US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson for exercises in the western Pacific.

目前，美國及其盟國繼續維持對朝鮮的軍事壓力，同時敦促中國利用中朝貿易聯繫來遏制朝鮮的核野心。日本海上自衛隊(Maritime Self-Defence Force)上週日證實，其兩艘驅逐艦將與美國卡爾?文森號(Carl Vinson)航母會合，在西太平洋進行演習。

China, however, is ambivalent about the benefits of tighter commercial sanctions. Amid reports of fuel shortages in the North Korean capital Pyongyang, China’s foreign ministry refused to comment on Friday as to whether Beijing was applying pressure beyond that prescribed by the UN.

然而，對於收緊經貿制裁的好處，中國的心態是矛盾的。目前有報道稱，朝鮮首都平壤出現燃油短缺。上週五被問及中國是否會對朝鮮實施聯合國規定以外的額外製裁時，中國外交部拒絕作出回答。

Traders in Dandong also say that it has been business as usual for non-sanctioned products, although sales of some permitted goods have been affected by apparently tougher economic conditions across the border in North Korea.

丹東的貿易商也表示，未受制裁的商品可以照常進行貿易，但其中一些貨物的銷售受到了朝鮮經濟緊張的影響。

Gao Shengye said his Chinese trading company’s sales of steel and other products with potential “dual-use” applications (for military and civilian purposes) had been halted by the sanctions. “Trade in autos, rice, beans and cooking oils have also been affected because sometimes they can’t pay us,” he said.

高勝業（音譯）稱，在他的貿易公司裏，由於制裁的緣故，鋼材及其他具有潛在“雙重用途”（軍用和民用）的產品已停止向朝方銷售。“汽車、大米、豆類和食用油貿易也受到影響，因爲有時他們無法支付給我們貨款，”他稱。

Late last week, the economic lifeline Mr Trump referred to was on display just outside Mr Li’s and Mr Gao’s offices in Dandong, which lies on the north bank of the Yalu river.

特朗普提到的經濟命脈，在鴨綠江北岸丹東市李建和高勝業的辦公室外面就能清楚體會到。

Dozens of lorries clogged the city centre, awaiting entry to a walled-off Chinese customs facility for final checks before crossing the Friendship Bridge into North Korea. Most of their cargo was hidden in containers or under tarpaulins, although some flatbed trucks made no attempt to conceal loads including steel pipes and industrial equipment.

數十輛卡車堵在市中心，等待進入封閉的中國海關口岸接受最後一道檢查，然後將跨越中朝友誼大橋進入朝鮮境內。多數貨物裝在集裝箱內或用防水布蓋着，不過也有一些平板貨車無意隱藏鋼管和工業設備等貨物。

At a much larger staging area on Dandong’s north-west outskirts, hundreds of additional North Korea-bound vehicles waited their turn to continue into the city centre and then across the Yalu into North Pyongan province.

在丹東市西北郊一個面積更大的停候區內，另有數百輛準備開往朝鮮的車輛等待進入丹東市中心，之後跨越鴨綠江進入朝鮮平安北道。

Guards prevented visitors from entering the staging area. But many of the trucks were being loaded in the open, revealing the huge range of products — from apples to lumber — that North Korea still imports from China.

警衛不讓參觀者進入停候區內。但很多卡車正在露天裝貨，可以看到朝鮮仍然可從中國進口的種類繁多的商品，從蘋果到木材。

“China must do something to show the world that we are actually helping stop North Korea from developing nuclear missiles,” said Tian Yuzhou, whose company sells cold storage equipment. “But our business is running OK. North Korean traders still come to us with lists of things they want to buy and we have to help ordinary people in North Korea survive. It’s a humanitarian issue.”

田宇宙（音譯）說:“中國必須做點什麼向世界表明，我們確實在幫助阻止朝鮮研發核導彈。但我們的業務運行得還可以。朝鮮貿易商仍會拿着他們想買的貨物清單來找我們，我們得幫助朝鮮老百姓活下去。這是人道問題。”田的公司銷售冷藏設備。