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.
每当朝鲜贸易商给李建（音译）出示长长的采购清单，李建就会拿出236页的联合国最新对朝制裁中译本一一对照。这些制裁是在去年9月朝鲜进行第5次核武器试验之后实施的。
“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.”“如果是制裁清单上的货物，我们就不能提供，”李建在他位于丹东市中心的办公室里说道，“即使我们提供了，货物在（中国）海关也会被扣押。”丹东是中国边境城市，大约70%的中朝贸易从这里通关。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.”上周末，美国总统唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)表示，中国政府能够、也应当为遏制朝鲜的核武器与弹道导弹计划采取更多措施。他在Twitter上发帖称：“中国在很大程度上是朝鲜的经济命脉，因此，虽说凡事不容易，但如果他们想解决朝鲜问题，他们就能办到。”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.在为期10天的亚太之行中，美国副总统迈克?彭斯(Mike Pence)在访问澳大利亚时暗示，北京方面已开始采取更多措施向朝鲜施加压力。“中国迄今采取的措施让我们感到鼓舞，”彭斯上周六说。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，美国及其盟国继续维持对朝鲜的军事压力，同时敦促中国利用中朝贸易联系来遏制朝鲜的核野心。日本海上自卫队(Maritime Self-Defence Force)上周日证实，其两艘驱逐舰将与美国卡尔?文森号(Carl Vinson)航母会合，在西太平洋进行演习。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，对于收紧经贸制裁的好处，中国的心态是矛盾的。目前有报道称，朝鲜首都平壤出现燃油短缺。上周五被问及中国是否会对朝鲜实施联合国规定以外的额外制裁时，中国外交部拒绝作出回答。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.丹东的贸易商也表示，未受制裁的商品可以照常进行贸易，但其中一些货物的销售受到了朝鲜经济紧张的影响。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.高胜业（音译）称，在他的贸易公司里，由于制裁的缘故，钢材及其他具有潜在“双重用途”（军用和民用）的产品已停止向朝方销售。“汽车、大米、豆类和食用油贸易也受到影响，因为有时他们无法支付给我们货款，”他称。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.特朗普提到的经济命脉，在鸭绿江北岸丹东市李建和高胜业的办公室外面就能清楚体会到。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.数十辆卡车堵在市中心，等待进入封闭的中国海关口岸接受最后一道检查，然后将跨越中朝友谊大桥进入朝鲜境内。多数货物装在集装箱内或用防水布盖着，不过也有一些平板货车无意隐藏钢管和工业设备等货物。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.在丹东市西北郊一个面积更大的停候区内，另有数百辆准备开往朝鲜的车辆等待进入丹东市中心，之后跨越鸭绿江进入朝鲜平安北道。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.
警卫不让参观者进入停候区内。但很多卡车正在露天装货，可以看到朝鲜仍然可从中国进口的种类繁多的商品，从苹果到木材。“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（音译）说:“中国必须做点什么向世界表明，我们确实在帮助阻止朝鲜研发核导弹。但我们的业务运行得还可以。朝鲜贸易商仍会拿着他们想买的货物清单来找我们，我们得帮助朝鲜老百姓活下去。这是人道问题。”田的公司销售冷藏设备。