Abstract
The paper emphasizes that politics and trade drive China’s regional involvement. The importance of the Arctic region from a geopolitical standpoint is growing. One of the area’s key objectives is gaining access to economic prospects resulting from commerce and environmental assets. It also lists China’s political objectives and the tenets that govern its conduct. The study aims to examine information on China’s efforts on the Polar Silk Road, cooperation with Russia, and general interest in the Arctic region from academic and reliable sources. Russia has turned elsewhere for investment since it is dedicated to developing the Arctic, mostly in China. China must traverse a challenging governance environment if it is to have a significant impact in the Arctic. The report highlights that political and economic factors play a major role in China’s participation in the area.
Introduction
Today’s Arctic geopolitical environment differs significantly from the significant power dynamics of the Cold War. More international institutions, including non-Arctic states, are becoming more interested in the Arctic and traditional Arctic states. This article investigates the rising Chinese interest in the Arctic and the factors driving China’s participation there. China has a variety of objectives, including taking part in the governance of the Arctic, advancing bilateral diplomacy there, tapping prospective resources, taking advantage of shipping possibilities, and conducting polar research. Four essential principles—understanding, protecting, developing, and participating in Arctic governance—have influenced China’s Arctic policy objectives.
China’s Arctic policy is still in the early stages of development and still confronts several obstacles, including territorial sovereignty conflicts among the Arctic states, increased international vigilance, the Arctic region’s natural environment, and China’s technology limitations. When addressing Arctic matters, the strategic interests of the two main actors in the region, notably Russia and the United States, and those of powerful non-Arctic nations like China have gained significant attention. The Arctic may be predicted to shift from the tactical periphery to a mainstream position in developing strategic politics as climate change and increasing security concerns play a more significant role in the global arena. The purpose of the study is to identify the impact of China’s actions in the Arctic region and identify the objectives of the interest. Significance in knowledge consists of other goals of China regarding the Arctic regions, which are not widely disclosed to the public.
Three main research questions are fundamental to the current study. Why is china involved in the arctic region? How is the role of China in the arctic region affecting the silk road? What is the impact of China-Russiassia collaboration in the arctic region US? The first hypothesis is that China has mostly engaged in economic activity in the Arctic. The second hypothesis is that China has slightly strengthened its bilateral ties with Arctic governments and taken part in resource development there. The study’s objective is to analyze the data from scholarly and credible resources on China’s actions regarding the Polar Silk Road, collaboration with Russia, and overall interest in the Arctic region. However, the research emphasizes that the central reason for China’s involvement in the region is not only economic but also political.
Literature Review
The Arctic climate is evolving, and the top of the globe deserves the attention of European governments and EU authorities due to issues brought on by resource demands, shifting power dynamics, and climate change. The Arctic’s energy resources expansion, the potential for war, and China’s growing influence in the region are key geopolitical problems examined in this essay. It contends that to understand the region’s complexities, it must acknowledge the diversity of the Arctic across various topics and distinguish between the international and regional levels of analysis. This study also makes the case that the overall weakness of EU foreign policy, particularly their lack of coherence and multiplicity of voices and viewpoints, negatively affects the EU’s approach to the north (Østhagen, 2019). The EU has to differentiate between the many levels described above, increase political and member state understanding of the Arctic’s concerns, and more effectively convey the value of the Union to Arctic states in order to have a more successful Arctic strategy (Østhagen, 2019). The EU must see the Arctic as a long-term key strategy and a region that is increasingly significant from a geopolitical standpoint.
China, which wants to play a bigger part in the development of the Arctic, is aware of the regional economic prospects and territorial problems. China published its much-anticipated White Paper outlining its policies and stance on the Arctic on January 26, 2018 (Lim, 2018). China’s grandiose proposal to build a Polar Silk Road via the Arctic is described in the White Paper (Lim, 2018). It also summarizes China’s policy objectives and the values that govern its behavior. China’s aspirations would depend on its collaboration and the realignment of its interests with Arctic states because it lacks sovereign territory in the area and is not an Arctic state. In analyzing China’s Arctic policy, this article takes into account three important issues: what are China’s primary interests in the Arctic; what are the goals and principles underlying China’s Arctic policy as stated in the White Paper; and how does China’s Arctic policy supplement its vision for the Polar Silk Road, an outgrowth of its the Belt and Road Initiative.
China aspires to play a significant regional role. Gaining access to business prospects from trade and environmental assets is a top objective in the area. In order to do this, China is strengthening its internal research and business development capabilities in the Arctic, participating more in global forums on Arctic governance, and developing closer connections with Arctic countries, particularly Russia. Divergent views on China exist among the Arctic nations, but Beijing generally encounters strong resistance to its regional involvement (Havnes, 2020). This opposition is motivated by perceptions of China as a state attempting to undermine the rules-based global system and a potential military concentration in the high north.
The conceptual approach in this article expands on an outline created to describe current schools of thinking in Arctic governance. It also connects Arctic governance to China and considers the latest events in Arctic governance. According to this article, Beijing intends to alter the current condition of the Arctic administration and move it toward a more tolerant attitude toward non-Arctic governments (Havnes, 2020). This article concludes that there are divergent viewpoints on Arctic governance and that Arctic countries generally indicate an open-mindedness to a Chinese entry into the Arctic, albeit in various ways, based on the declared Arctic techniques of eight Arctic states and China.
The economic objectives of China and Russia point to a relatively simple basis for collaboration among them in the Arctic, with Chinese capital investment making Russia’s natural riches in the area exploitable. The Arctic has been considered a potential source of vital assets by Russia. However, Russia’s access to the resources and technology needed to expand its far northern territory has been substantially constrained by the sanctions placed on it by Western nations in response to the annexation of Crimea (Srensen & Klimenko, 2017). Russia has sought elsewhere for investment, particularly in China, since it is determined to advance the advancement of the Arctic (Srensen & Klimenko, 2017). Despite not having a formal Arctic strategy, China has dramatically boosted its involvement in the Arctic over the past five years.
Regarding resource development, shipping, and governance, China’s increased participation has required collaboration with various Arctic governments, particularly Russia. Enhancing Arctic cooperation has emerged as a key component in the reconciliation between China and Russia. Russia has been attempting to quicken its pivot to Asia, which has mostly focused on China, since 2014 (Sorensen & Klimenko, 2017). Through initiatives like its One Road, One Belt strategy, China has also pushed to deepen its relationship with Russia. Even though both nations have frequently expressed their friendship and stressed the value of their strategic collaboration, there remains a great deal of mistrust between them. One area where collaboration may advance is the development of contacts in the Arctic, given the correct circumstances. Camilla T. N. Srensen and Ekaterina Klimenko have created a current overview of the main potential for and constraints for Chinese-Russian collaboration in the Arctic area with their SIPRI Policy Paper (Sorensen & Klimenko, 2017). The substantial research conducted over the past few years as part of SIPRI’s Arctic Futures project served as the foundation for the significant conclusions reported in this study (Sorensen & Klimenko, 2017). Together, these pieces emphasize the intricate processes altering the Arctic due to climate change and evolving international security and political connections.
China aspires to play a significant regional role. Gaining access to business prospects from trade and environmental assets is a top objective in the area. In order to do this, China is strengthening its internal research and business development capabilities in the Arctic, participating more in global forums on Arctic governance, and developing closer connections with Arctic countries, particularly Russia. Divergent views on China exist among the Arctic nations, but Beijing generally encounters strong resistance to its regional involvement (Havnes, 2020). This opposition is motivated by perceptions of China as a state attempting to undermine the rules-based global system and a potential military buildup in the high north.
The conceptual approach in this article expands on an outline created to describe current schools of thinking in Arctic governance. It also connects Arctic governance to China and considers the latest events in Arctic governance. According to this article, Beijing intends to alter the current condition of the Arctic administration and move it toward a more tolerant attitude toward non-Arctic governments (Havnes, 2020). This article concludes that there are divergent viewpoints on Arctic governance and that Arctic countries generally indicate an open-mindedness to a Chinese entry into the Arctic, albeit in various ways, based on the declared Arctic techniques of eight Arctic states and China. Due to this, China faces a challenging governance environment as it aspires to play a significant role in the Arctic.
Although they overlap rather than align, the Arctic region is one place where Chinese and Russian interests coincide. Their collaboration in the Arctic is an aspect of the larger connection between the nations. China-Russian collaboration in the Arctic may be evaluated along several dimensions. They may be broadly divided into political, military, and economic. Natural resources are part of the economic component, particularly energy, minerals, and seafood. Here, it is unclear how much money China is ready to spend to obtain these resources or how willingly Russia will hand up power to China in exchange for funding.
Shipping routes make up another aspect of economics; despite China’s interest in trans-Arctic shipping, its ships will depend on Russian ports for fueling, replenishment, and emergency pauses in the long run. National security is the second broad dimension. As China develops its great-power status and military prowess globally, it will launch nuclear-powered submarines that can operate in the Arctic Ocean. Though Moscow has been hesitant to share technology for advanced platforms and systems, Russia has benefited from providing China with weapons and knowledge. The third aspect of China-Russia relations in the Arctic is political: China is cultivating ties with every Arctic nation to have a greater say in decisions affecting the future of the Arctic.
Being the Arctic powerhouse makes Russia less susceptible in this attempt, but Moscow’s flexibility is limited by the country’s fragile and undeveloped economy. Russia has a history of fiercely guarding its unique position in the Arctic. When considered collectively, these factors provide a framework for evaluating collaboration in the Arctic and defending the interests of the United States and its friends and partners (Pincus, 2019). Economic, military, and political cooperation are three vectors. Cross-cutting pressures are felt by both China and Russia across all of these areas. Russia serves as a tool for China to achieve its economic, social, and military objectives in the Arctic and elsewhere. Russia serves as a tool for China to achieve its economic, social, and military objectives in the Arctic and elsewhere.
However, Russia is a challenging partner, and Arctic ventures are by nature challenging. China provides a necessary counterbalance to the isolationist Western agenda for Russia. Russia sees in China the financial resources and markets required to bridge the gap left by U.S. and E.U (Pincus, 2019). Sanctions and finance the country’s growth to recover its status as a great power. As a result, it appears it has been more about paper and shared pronouncements than it has been about genuine investment. While some agreements have been reached, others have failed due to contrasting Chinese and Russian perspectives on their partnership in the Arctic.
Research Methods
The study’s goal was to analyze the data from scholarly and credible resources on China’s actions regarding the Polar Silk Road, collaboration with Russia, and overall interest in the Arctic region. The paper used qualitative research with the inductive approach. The data was qualitative data was collected with scholarly articles and thoroughly analyzed. Secondary sources served as the main providers of information and references in the research. The thematic analysis focused on three themes: China’s interest in the arctic region, the country’s impact on the polar silk road, and the relationships with Russia.
Results and Discussion
The EU needs to improve member states’ political knowledge of the issues confronting the Arctic. The EU must view the Arctic as a long-term, crucial policy. Over the past five years, China has significantly increased its presence in the Arctic. China has also strengthened its ties with Russia through programs like its One Road, One Belt policy. Despite their long-standing relationship, China and Russia still have a tremendous degree of mistrust. In their SIPRI Policy Paper, Srensen and Klimenko (2017) summarize the major opportunities and challenges for Chinese-Russian cooperation in the Arctic region. There are several points of view on Arctic administration, and Arctic nations typically show an open attitude toward Chinese influence there. The White Paper details China’s ambitious plan to create a Polar Silk Road that travels across the Arctic.
For China to achieve its goals, it must work with Arctic governments and realign its interests. This essay considers three significant issues: what China’s main interests in the Arctic are; what are the objectives and guiding principles of China’s Arctic policy. Due to its interest in trans-Arctic commerce, China will rely on Russian ports for refueling, supplies, and unexpected stops. China will introduce nuclear-powered submarines capable of sailing in the Arctic Ocean as it advances toward becoming a great power. To have a role in choices impacting the future of the Arctic, China is fostering relations with every country in the region.
Conclusion
Overall, the study highlights that politics and trade drive China’s participation in the area. From a geopolitical perspective, the Arctic area is becoming increasingly important. One of the main goals in the area is to gain access to economic opportunities from trade and environmental assets. Additionally, it enumerates China’s political goals and the principles that guide its actions. Based on the stated Arctic approaches of eight Arctic governments and China, Arctic countries typically suggest an open-mindedness to a Chinese foray into the Arctic, albeit in different ways. Since Russia is committed to advancing the Arctic, it has looked elsewhere for investment, mainly in China. For China to play a substantial role in the Arctic, it must navigate a difficult governance environment. However, there is a certain limitation study since there is a lack of quantitative data and sources. In the future would be useful to consider the numerical data and information regarding the trade and investments of China in the Arctic region.
References
Havnes, H. (2020). The Polar Silk Road and China’s role in Arctic governance. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 4(1), 121-138.
Lim, K. S. (2018). China’s Arctic Policy and the Polar Silk Road Vision. Arctic Yearbook, 2018, 420-432.
Pincus, R. (2019). China and Russia in the Arctic. US Naval College, Center for Naval Warfare Studies.
Sorensen, C. T., & Klimenko, E. (2017). Emerging Chinese-Russian Cooperation in the Arctic. SIPRI Policy Paper, 46.
Østhagen, A. (2019). The New Geopolitics of the Arctic: Russia, China, and the EU. Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies.