2021. 03. 25.

China Stakes Its Claim to the Arctic – The Diplomat

CHINA POWER

China Stakes Its

Claim to the
Arctic
Beijing’s Arctic White
Paper claims interests in
the region for China as a
“near Arctic state.”

By Marc Lanteigne and Mingming Shi

January 29, 2018

Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Газпром

нефть

After a long period of speculation, the

government of China released its first White
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2021. 03. 25. China Stakes Its Claim to the Arctic – The Diplomat

Paper on the Arctic on January 26. The

document, entitled “China’s Arctic Policy” (《中
国的北极政策》), was introduced by Vice
Minister of Foreign Affairs Kong Xuanyou at a
Beijing press conference hosted by the
country’s State Council Information Office. In
addition to outlining Beijing’s specific
objectives in the Arctic, the document also
confirmed that China’s Arctic interests would
be tied to the expanding Belt and Road trade
initiative via a “Polar Silk Road.”

The opportunities that have been created in

the Arctic for maritime shipping were a major
part of the paper. China anticipates making
extensive use of newly developing shipping
routes, including the Northern Sea Route (NSR)
north of Siberia, which has the potential to
connect China with markets in Russia and
Northern Europe, as well as the Northwest
Passage in the Canadian Arctic, and the
Central Arctic Route, which may become more
accessible in the summer months.

The White Paper brought together many

strands of China’s Arctic diplomacy that had
evolved over the past five years, including the
idea of the country as a “near Arctic state” and
a key stakeholder in the region in addition to
linkages with the Belt and Road. The document
stressed China’s geographic proximity to the
Arctic, as well as the effects of climate change
on the country and Beijing’s burgeoning cross-
regional diplomacy with Arctic states. As the
paper noted, as non-Arctic countries were not
in a position to claim “territorial sovereignty”
in the far north, countries south of the Arctic
Circle have the right to engage in scientific
research and navigation, as well as economic
activities such as resource extraction, fishing,
and the laying of cables and pipelines.

Although Beijing has sought to avoid being

seen as challenging the status quo in the
Arctic, its policies, summarized in the White
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2021. 03. 25. China Stakes Its Claim to the Arctic – The Diplomat

Paper, have also reflected concerns about

being marginalized from what the Chinese
government sees as an economically
important region due to the country’s lack of
Arctic geography. As with other areas of
emerging Chinese foreign policy, there was the
promise that the Arctic would be approached
via the concepts of “respect, cooperation, win-
win results and sustainability,” including
respecting the rights and responsibilities of
both Arctic and non-Arctic states, and
ensuring that the benefits of the Arctic are
shared equally.

The document also encapsulated Beijing’s

emerging goals in the far north as the need to
“understand, protect, develop, and participate
in the governance of the Arctic.” With each of
these endeavors, Beijing pledged to work with
Arctic governments but also with international
organizations, including the United Nations
and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS), in deepening its presence in
regional affairs. This suggests that China is
seeking a more comprehensive approach to
engaging the region beyond scientific
diplomacy, which had been the cornerstone of
Chinese activities in the region since the
country became a formal observer in the
Arctic Council in 2013. Before that
achievement, Beijing has been seeking to raise
its presence in the region through its research
base at Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, exploration
missions using the country’s icebreaker, the
Xuelong (Snow Dragon) and supporting joint
scientific projects. At the same time, however,
the paper confirmed that Beijing was seeking
to move beyond strictly scientific cooperation
as its interests in the economic opportunities
in the Arctic have grown as a result of climate
change.

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Among the economic possibilities that the

paper elucidated, in addition to the further
development of shipping routes, was the
greater availability of fossil fuels and
minerals and potential for sustainable energy
such as wind and geothermal power, as well as
seafood and service industries such as
tourism. It was stressed, however, that Beijing
was committed to the responsible
development of these resources in partnership
with local actors and in accordance with
international law.

Moreover, the Arctic was further identified as

a “blue economic passage,” which would be
connected to the greater Belt and Road
network, a status which was first mentioned in
a June 2017 document released by the State
Oceanic Administration (SOA) and the
National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC). Thus, the paper called for
Chinese firms to participate in the
development of Arctic development
infrastructure. Over the past few years,
examples of Chinese joint ventures have
included support for the Yamal liquefied
natural gas project, which formally came
online in December of last year, potential
investment in natural gas pipelines in Alaska,
and emerging mining enterprises in
Greenland. However, there have also been
some setbacks, such as the decision made this
month by the Chinese National Offshore Oil
Corporation (CNOOC) to withdraw from a
potential offshore oil-drilling project in
Iceland due to scarce initial findings.

From an institutional viewpoint, the paper

reiterated China’s support for international
law as well as regional cooperation on the
governmental level, including the Arctic
Council, as well as Track II organizations such
the Arctic Circle forum and the China-Nordic
Arctic Research Center. The environment was

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also listed as a priority for China’s Arctic

engagement, including protecting the local
ecosystems and addressing the impact of
climate change. One of Beijing’s main
justifications for referring to China as a near
Arctic state was the links made between
extreme weather conditions, as well as air
pollution patterns, and Arctic climate change.
The white paper also called for the promotion
of peace and stability in the Arctic as well as
support for the cordial resolution of disputes
in the region and the promotion of maritime
safety as the Arctic opens to greater
commercial activity. In addition to cooperating
bilaterally and multilaterally with the Arctic
regional states, the paper cited recent
cooperation with Asian neighbors, namely
Japan and South Korea, on Arctic research.

Raising public awareness of the Arctic was

mentioned both in the paper and at this week’s
press conference. Although China’s
involvement in the region can be traced back
to almost a century ago, the Arctic for most of
the Chinese public is still a remote novelty.
Indeed, publicity has been increasing in the
past few years to educate the country about
the significance of the Far North. Rediscovering
the Arctic, (the Chinese title being Beiji,
Beiji! or Arctic, Arctic!), a 2016 documentary
by China’s Central Television (CCTV), was
produced to comprehensively introduce the
region from the perspectives of international
relationships, environmental and economic
issues, as well as the various forms of Chinese
regional engagement.

The environment and climate change in the

Arctic, and how Beijing has been contributing
accordingly, was discussed throughout the
white paper, and can be regarded part of a
broader picture of Chinese foreign policy as “a
responsible major country” to tackle global
warming. Notably, in 1997, China ratified the

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2021. 03. 25. China Stakes Its Claim to the Arctic – The Diplomat

Kyoto Protocol, and in 2015, China was a major

participant at the watershed climate summit
in Paris, and conveyed its support for
international cooperation to address climate
change issues. China’s Arctic policy will be a
major test of that commitment.

In the short term, the release of the White

Paper confirms that China’s Arctic policy has
begun to both mature and diversify behind
scientific diplomacy, and also serves to stress
that the region has grown in importance as the
Belt and Road process accelerates and that
China is determined to be counted as a major
Arctic player.

Marc Lanteigne is a Senior Lecturer at the

Centre for Defence and Security Studies at
Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand,
and the editor of Over the Circle, a news blog
covering the Arctic.

Mingming Shi is a project manager for the

journal Icelandic Times, and is a Master’s
student in international relations and Arctic
politics at the University of Iceland, Reykjavík.

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