Why China’s Interests in the Arctic are Constrained
Worries that China’s behavior in the South China Sea foreshadows future provocations in the Arctic are exaggerated.
Drift ice camp in the middle of the Arctic Ocean as seen from the deck of the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long. Credit: Timo Palo, Creative Commons
China has broad ambitions for influence in the Arctic region, the northern polar region that is rich in natural resources, central to halting the effects of global warming and encircled by the eight, so-called arctic nations: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the United States.
In recent years, China has invested heavily in the region, declared itself a “near Arctic state,” built ice-breakers and ships capable of exploring and traversing a region that co
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If Xi Jinping is becoming more preoccupied with internal politics, it could lead to a period of relative calm in China’s relations with the United States.
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