China denies lagging on sanctions support

BEIJING — China on Wednesday rejected U.S. accusations it is weakening its enforcement of U.N. sanctions against North Korea but said that more efforts are needed toward reaching a political settlement and greater attention should be paid to the impact of the sanctions on ordinary North Koreans.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying responded to comments by the State Department’s deputy envoy for North Korean affairs, Alex Wong, in which he said China was no longer attempting to enforce many of the sanctions, including a requirement to expel North Korean contract workers.

“The Chinese government increasingly allows its companies to conduct trade with

North Korea in a broad spectrum of U.N.prohibited goods,” Wong said at a seminar Tuesday in Washington. Chinese and

North Korean-flagged ships also regularly transport coal, a key North Korean export covered by sanctions, Wong said.

Hua told reporters at a daily briefing that, as a permanent member of the Security Council and “a responsible big power, China has always earnestly implemented Security Council resolutions and fulfilled its international obligations.”

China is North Korea’s most important ally and source of trade and aid but agreed to U.N. sanctions after North Korea conducted nuclear and missile tests in defiance of Beijing, threatening stability in northeast Asia.

China has objected to unilateral U.S. sanctions on North Korea.