On Oct. 15, after protracted delays, China and North Korea finally opened the New Yalu River Bridge to expand cross-border trade, which only last year returned to pre-COVID 19 pandemic levels. Previously, a bridge constructed in the 1940s had served as the main conduit for bilateral trade since North Korea's creation in September 1945, soon after the end of World War II. The new bridge crosses the Yalu between Dandong in China's Liaoning province and Sinuiju in North Korea's Pyongan province. During the opening ceremony held in the middle of the new crossing, ten flag-bedecked trucks from each side passed in opposite directions with horns blaring. Chinese state media reported Chinese Premier Li Qiang's video address on the occasion: "[The bridge] will not only significantly promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, but also strengthen people-to-people exchanges and deepen the emotional ties between our peoples," he said. Bilateral trade between China and North Korea, a hermit nation, rose 25% in 2025 to $2.73 billion, according to Reuters.