The Arctic Region is the northernmost part of the world and is governed by the Arctic Council. China has been involved in the region since 1925. China signed the Spitsbergen Treaty[i] on 1 July 1925 and began to participate in Arctic affairs and has expanded its scope of activities. Subsequently, China has self-designated itself as a ‘near-Arctic state’. The paper delves into the increasing Chinese interest in the Arctic region.
Increasing Chinese Interest in the Arctic
In 1999, China sent an expedition to conduct research in scientific fields, including the ocean, biological species, the atmosphere, geological conditions, and oceanic ice.[ii] On 28 July 2004, China’s first Arctic scientific base, Yellow River Station, was established on Svalbard Island, Norway. In 2010, Chinese Rear Admiral, Yin Zhuo, said, “The Arctic belongs to all the people around the world as no nation has sovereignty over it”.[iii] China joined the Arctic Council as an observer state in 2013 at the Kiruna Ministerial Meeting and was one of the six non-Arctic states that were approved for observer status by the Arctic Council.[iv]
However, under Xi Jinping, China’s Arctic Policy got impetus. Since 2012, in Xi Jinping’s speeches, it has been clear that he aspires to build China into a ‘polar great power’ by 2030. In 2013, senior Chinese officials stated that “for the first time, China’s goal of becoming a polar great power was a key component of Beijing’s maritime strategy.”[v] In 2014, while signing an agreement with Australia to strengthen their collaboration on Antarctica, Xi Jinping gave an important speech on Chinese Polar ambition. He stressed that “this is a critical period when our country is moving from a large Polar country to a Polar great power.” Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration, wrote in China Ocean News, “Today, we are already standing at the starting point of a brand-new historical era, of striding toward becoming a polar-region power”. He added that the years from 2015 to 2030 will be “an important period” in China’s efforts to become “a polar expedition power.”[vi]
In 2015, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming delivered a keynote speech at the China Country Session of the Third Arctic Circle Assembly. In his speech, he expounded on six specific policies regarding Arctic Affairs.[vii] All these efforts finally led to the release of the White Paper on the Arctic by China.
White Paper on the Arctic
On 26 January 2018, the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China published a White Paper titled “China’s Arctic Policy”.[viii] This paper was the culmination of a long process that China undertook over the years to become accepted as a legitimate Arctic actor.
The White Paper elucidates the Arctic situation and recent changes, China’s policy goals and basic principles on the Arctic. It also expounds on ‘China’s Policies and Positions’ on participating in Arctic affairs. It is divided into five categories:
The paper also states that “China hopes to work with all parties to build a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through developing the Arctic shipping routes”.
Besides the White Paper, China has given substantial importance to the Arctic region in its Five-Year Plan (FYP) as well. The Polar regions were included in the 12th FYP in 2011. The 13th FYP lists the establishment of a “new, shore-based Arctic observation station” as one of its goals under its broad rubric of “safeguarding maritime rights and interests”.[x] The 14th FYP, which was released in March 2021, called for “participating in pragmatic cooperation in the Arctic to build the ‘Polar Silk Road’”. [xi]
China and the Belt and Road Initiative - The Polar Silk Road
https://www.statista.com/chart/30201/major-maritime-routes-opening-up-in-the-arctic/
The four main maritime routes that have been identified in the Arctic are The Northwest Passage (NWP), the Transpolar Sea Route (TSR), the Arctic Bridge Route (ABR) and the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The NSR runs from the Barents Sea, near Russia’s border with Norway, to the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska.[xii] The NSR will help China diversify its energy routes. Chinese officials often call the NSR -the ‘Arctic Golden Waterway’.[xiii]
In 2013, Xi Jinping launched his signature project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Arctic Ocean route of the BRI is called the ‘blue economic passage’. The route connecting Europe and Asia through the Arctic was subsequently expanded and called the Polar Silk Road in 2018 White paper on Arctic.[xiv]
In the wake of the Suez Canal crisis, a commentary in Global Times highlighted the importance of the Polar Silk Road. It states that the Polar Silk Road has provided an alternative for global shipping companies, especially after the unprecedented chaos seen in the Suez Canal caused by a stranded cargo ship and global logistic hurdles posed by port congestion. [xv]
Russia is also considering the possibility of joining the NSR and China’s Maritime Silk Route.[xvi] Vladimir Putin said, “We see cooperation with Chinese partners in developing the transit potential of the NSR as promising. We are ready to create a joint working body for the development of the NSR”.[xvii]
China’s Scientific Exploration in the Arctic
China has two permanent research stations in the region, one in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago and the other in Iceland.[xviii] Till December 2022, China has already had two research vessels for its Polar Mission, the Xuelong 1 and the Xuelong 2. The role of the vessels is to refill supplies for the seven stations[xix] at the North and South Poles. They also support research on ice caps, atmospheric composition, and the marine environment in the polar areas.[xx] The Xuelong1 was bought from Ukraine in 1994, and the Xuelong 2 was built in China with design support from Finland. The Xuelong 2 is the world’s first polar research icebreaker that can break the ice as it moves both forward and backward.[xxi] On 21 December 2022, China completed the country’s 12th Arctic scientific expedition.[xxii] On 12 July 2023, China has sent its 13th Arctic Ocean scientific expedition. [xxiii]
Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di is China’s third polar icebreaker after Xuelong 1 and Xuelong-2. It set out on 17 January 2023 for the South China Sea and then voyaged through the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea before arriving in Liaodong Bay. The ship was built in the 1980s as an icebreaking anchor-handling tug supply vessel for Beau Drill, the drilling subsidiary of Gulf Canada Resources, and was acquired by Sun Yat-sen University in 2021.[xxiv]
The nature of these research activities is moot. It may be noted that the 2019 Department of Defence report on China’s military power suggested that “civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean.” The 2020 edition of Science of Military Strategy states that “military-civilian mixing is the main way for great powers to achieve a Polar military presence.” It adds that China should “give full play to the role of military forces in supporting polar scientific research and other operations.”[xxv] The dual-use nature of Arctic research exemplifies China’s military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy. Xi Jinping has significantly elevated the importance of MCF, and this is being applied to the Arctic region as well.[xxvi]
Economic Investments in the Arctic
Reportedly, China has invested over USD 90 billion in the Arctic Circle in infrastructure, assets and projects. The investments are largely in the energy and mineral sectors.[xxvii] In 2016, the Russian Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) producer Novatek signed an agreement with the China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China for loans of USD 12 billion to finance the Yamal LNG project.[xxviii] Novatek is also reviewing the Arctic LNG 2 project with Chinese partners.[xxix]
In 2018, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, Russia’s Vnesheconombank and the China Development Bank signed bilateral investment deals and as part of the project, jointly selected projects will get funding and NSR will be the priority.[xxx] In January 2023, the China Communications Construction Company signed a deal with Russian Titanium Resources (Rustitan) to help develop the Pizhemskoye mining project in the Komi Republic near the Arctic Circle.[xxxi] Over the past years, the Chinese shipping company has sent several ships across the Arctic route. These ships are mostly carrying big industrial modules and components, like wind turbines, to Western Europe and Scandinavia.[xxxii]
Conclusion
In the wake of the Ukraine crisis, the geopolitics of the region is likely to change. Russia’s cooperation with other Arctic Council member states is strained. Chinese activities in the region will also be affected by the consequence of the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Chinese foothold in the Arctic region is gradually increasing. China is no longer a passive player in the region. China’s forays in the region complements the Polar Silk Road. The Arctic region has become indispensable for China’s increasing energy needs. The Arctic is important for China not only for the sea lanes but also for the natural resources that lie beneath it. Gaining access to polar resources, as well as the Arctic Sea and air routes, has become critical for China to become a great global power. Overall, China’s interest in the region has expanded from geoeconomic to geostrategic.
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*Dr. Teshu Singh, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal.
Endnotes
[i] The Spitsbergen treaty was signed between Norway, the US, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan the Netherlands Great Britain and Ireland and the British overseas Dominions and Sweden concerning Spitsbergen. It was signed on 9 February 1920 in Versailles and came into force in 1925.
[ii] China's First Arctic Expedition, http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/40958.htm (Accessed on 2 June 2023).
[iii] Gordon G. Chang, China’s Arctic Play, The Diplomat, 9 March 2010, https://thediplomat.com/2010/03/chinas-arctic-play/ (Accessed on 2 June 2023).
[iv] The other five countries were India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.
[v] Anu Sharma, China’s Polar Silk Road: Implications for the Arctic Region, Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs (JIPA), 25 October 2021, https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/2820750/chinas-polar-silk-road-implications-for-the-arctic-region/ (Accessed on 10 June 2023).
[vi] Bree Feng, China Seeks to Become a ‘Polar-Region Power’, The New York Times, 19 November 2014, https://archive.nytimes.com/sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/china-seeks-to-become-a-polar-region-power/ (Accessed on 21 June 2023).
[vii] Wang Yi. China's Participation in Arctic Affairs Is Guided by Three Major Principles of Respect, Cooperation and Win-win Results,
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/gjhdq_665435/3265_665445/3306_664580/3308_664584/201510/t20151020_576896.html (Accessed on 10 June 2023).
[viii] Full text: China’s Arctic Policy, https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/white_paper/2018/01/26/content_281476026660336.htm (Accessed on 6 June 2023).
[ix] ibid
[x] Marc Lanteigne, The Polar Policies in China’s New Five-Year Plan, The Diplomat, 12 March 2021, https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/the-polar-policies-in-chinas-new-five-year-plan/ (Accessed on 21 June 2023).
[xi] ibid
[xii] L.G., What is the Northern Sea Route?, The Economist, 24 September 2018, https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/09/24/what-is-the-northern-sea-route (Accessed on 2 June 2023).
[xiii] Michael Byers, Asian juggernaut eyes our 'golden' waterways, The Globe and the Mail, 29 August 2011, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/asian-juggernaut-eyes-our-golden-waterways/article626936/ (Accessed on 2 June 2023).
[xiv] Full text: China’s Arctic Policy, https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/white_paper/2018/01/26/content_281476026660336.htm, (Accessed on 6 June 2023).
[xv] Yin Yeping, 'Polar Silk Road’ eyes new vision amid global challenges, Global Times, 21 Oct 2021, https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202110/1236940.shtml (Accessed on 20 June 2023).
[xvi] Vladimir Petrovskiy, Russia, China and the 'Ice Silk Road', 5 November 2019, CGTN, https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-11-05/Russia-China-and-the-Ice-Silk-Road--LnAdYyCGje/index.html (Accessed on 2 June 2023).
[xvii] Russia and China ready to cooperate on development of Northern Sea Route — Putin, https://tass.com/economy/1592391 (Accessed on 2 June 2023).
[xviii] Matthew P. Funaiole, Brian Hart, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., and Aidan Powers-Riggs, Frozen Frontiers China’s Great Power Ambitions in the Polar Regions, CSIS, April 18, 2023, https://features.csis.org/hiddenreach/china-polar-research-facility/
(Accessed on 30 June 2023).
[xix] China has five stations in Antarctica- Great Wall, Zhongshan, Taishan Summer Camp, Kunlun/ Dome A and Ross Sea Ice Shelf and two research stations in Arctic.
[xx] Echo Xie, China starts building third icebreaker, which scientists say could send researchers to polar seabeds by 2025, the South China Morning Post, 27 June 2023, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3225554/china-starts-building-third-icebreaker-which-scientists-say-could-send-researchers-polar-seabeds (Accessed on 30 June 2023) .
[xxi] Liu Zhen, China to develop new heavy icebreaker for ‘Polar Silk Road’, the South China Morning Post, 13 November 2021, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3155860/china-develop-new-heavy-icebreaker-polar-silk-road?module=hard_link&pgtype=article (Accessed on 30 June 2023).
[xxii] China completes 12th Arctic scientific expedition, China Daily, 29 October, 2021, https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202109/29/WS6153cd6ea310cdd39bc6c4dd.html (30 June 2023).
[xxiii] Chinese scientists embark on 13th Arctic Ocean scientific expedition, People's Daily, 13 July 2023, http://en.people.cn/n3/2023/0713/c90000-20043397.html (Accessed on 13 July 2023).
[xxiv] Deng Xiaoci and Zhao Juecheng, China's polar icebreaker conducts sea trials, to boost country's research capability in polar studies, the Global Times, 7 February 2023, https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202302/1284995.shtml (Accessed on 30 June 2023).
[xxv] Matthew P. Funaiole, Brian Hart,Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., and Aidan Powers-Riggs, Frozen Frontiers China’s Great Power Ambitions in the Polar Regions, CSIS, April 18, 2023, https://features.csis.org/hiddenreach/china-polar-research-facility/
(30 June 2023).
[xxvi] Alex Stone and Peter Wood, China’s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy, https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Research/Other-Topics/2020-06-15%20CASI_China_Military_Civil_Fusion_Strategy.pdf (Accessed on 30 June 2023).
[xxvii] China Regional Snapshot: Arctic, https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/china-regional-snapshot-arctic/#:~:text=The%20PRC%20has%20invested%20over,%2C%20assets%2C%20or%20other%20projects (Accessed on 27 June 2023 ).
[xxviii] Stephen Bierman and Elena Mazneva, Russia LNG Plant Gets $12 Billion From China Amid Sanctions, Bloomberg, April 29, 2016, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-29/russian-lng-project-gets-12-billion-china-loans-amid-sanctions#xj4y7vzkg (Accessed on 27 June 2023).
[xxix] Ekaterina Klimenko, Shipping along the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route will be determined by Russia–China cooperation in the region, SIPRI , 7 February 2018, https://www.sipri.org/commentary/expert-comment/2018/shipping-along-arctics-northern-sea-route-will-be-determined-russia-china-cooperation-region
(Accessed on 27 June 2023).
[xxx] Atle Staalesen, Chinese money for Northern Sea Route, the Barents Observer, https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/arctic/2018/06/chinese-money-northern-sea-route (Accessed on 27 June 2023.)
[xxxi] Malte Humpert, Russian Mining Company Partners With China to Develop Massive Titanium Deposit in Arctic, High North News, February 6, 2023, https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/russian-mining-company-partners-china-develop-massive-titanium-deposit-arctic , (Accessed on 30 June 2023).
[xxxii] Atle Staalesen, Chinese shippers shun Russian Arctic waters, The Barnet Observers, 22 August 2022, https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/industry-and-energy/2022/08/chinese-shippers-shun-russian-arctic-waters(Accessed on 30 June 2023).