While Western media called Republican President-elect Donald Trump a “madman” for suggesting he would buy or “invade” Greenland, China is quietly building up a new maritime Silk Road in the Arctic Ocean with Russia’s assistance.
On December 22, 2024, Trump wrote in an X post that “for purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
On January 7, he told the media that he would not rule out using military or economic force in order to take over the autonomous Danish territory.
In August 2019, when Trump was in his first presidential term, he said he was considering an attempt to buy Greenland for strategic reasons. At the time, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Greenland was not for sale and that Trump’s proposal was “absurd.” Trump called Frederiksen’s comments “nasty.”
At that time, the 2022 Ukrainian-Russian war had not yet broken out and China-European Union relations were still relatively stable.
Back in January 2018, the Chinese government published “China’s Arctic Policy,” outlining its plan to “utilize Arctic resources in a lawful and rational manner.”
Those policies include:
- China’s participation in the development of Arctic shipping routes
- Participating in the exploration for and exploitation of oil, gas, mineral and other non-living resources
- Participating in conservation and utilization of fisheries and other living resources
- Participating in developing tourism resources
“China is an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs. Geographically, China is a ‘Near-Arctic State’, one of the continental States that are closest to the Arctic Circle,” the Chinese government said in the policy statement.
“China has long been involved in Arctic affairs. In 1925, China joined the Spitsbergen (Svalbard) Treaty and started to participate in addressing the Arctic affairs,” it added.
“Since then, China has exerted more efforts in the exploration of the Arctic, expanding the scope of activities, gaining more experience and deepening cooperation with other participants.”
Over the past seven years, China has made significant strides in implementing its Arctic policies.
For example, in the second half of 2023, NewNew Shipping Line, a Chinese company that has partnered with Russia, completed seven containership voyages between Asia and Europe via the Arctic Ocean. Last July, it launched a new Arctic route connecting Shanghai to St Petersburg.
A Shanxi-based columnist says the US finally recognized that China and Russia have joined forces to launch the Northern Sea Route, or Ice Silk Road, which among other things, will mitigate China’s Malacca Strait dilemma, but it’s too late now.
“The Northern Sea Route has been ignored by many people but it is now attracting China’s attention with its unique geographical advantages,” the writer says.
“This route meanders along the Russian Arctic coastline from East Asia to Europe, which can shorten the traditional route through the Strait of Malacca and the Suez Canal by one-third,” he adds. “This is undoubtedly a great benefit for China as a shorter voyage means lower costs.”
”If one day the US attempts to block the Strait of Malacca through military means, China’s oil supply will instantly face a severe challenge. Therefore, developing the Northern Sea Route is not only to save time and costs, but more importantly, to open up another lifeline for China’s energy security.”
A Shandong-based writer says China had failed to start any scientific research in both the North and South Poles for many years until Chinese explorer Gao Dengyi read about the Svalbard Treaty in a book during an academic visit to Norway in 1991.
“In the past, Western capitalist countries led by the US had obstructed our research in the North and South Poles with different excuses,” the writer says. “We had requested to borrow lands from our neighboring countries and sought help from international organizations. But this problem could be resolved only after Gao’s Norway trip.”
He says the Svalbard Treaty provided legal grounds for China to begin scientific research at the North Pole, resulting in the establishment of China’s first Arctic research station – Yellow River Station – in Svalbard, Norway, in 2004.
The Svalbard Treaty was first signed by 14 countries in 1920. It said that Svalbard is a part of Norway while other countries have the right to do scientific research on the North Pole.
In 1925, Duan Qirui, head of the Beiyang government, dominated by warlords in northern China, was forced by the West to sign the treaty. He reportedly did not take the time needed to understand fully what he had signed as China was in a civil war at that time.
Like Trump, China has an eye on Greenland’s strategic significance in the Arctic. In 2018, Chinese state-owned contractor China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) bid to build airports in Greenland, but it withdrew the bid in 2019.
Some Chinese buyers had also sought to buy private land in Svalbard but the sale was blocked by the Norwegian government last July on national security grounds.
On November 25 last year, Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom)’s General Manager Alexey Likhachev and China’s Minister of Transport Liu Wei held the first meeting of the subcommittee on Arctic shipping routes in Saint Petersburg.
Both sides agreed to further discuss shipping development, navigation safety and polar ship technology and construction.
In a letter sent to the US Pentagon last October, the US Congress’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expressed concerns about China’s growing presence in the Arctic.
Elizabeth Buchanan, a senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and a polar geopolitics expert, told Nikkei Asia that if the US controls Greenland, China will have to change its Arctic strategy as an arms race will boost shipping insurance premiums in the region.
Yong Jian is a contributor to the Asia Times. He is a Chinese journalist who specializes in Chinese technology, economy and politics.