Russia and China in the Arctic: Cooperation, Competition, and Consequences
Publisher: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Author(s): Dmitri Trenin
Date: 2020
Topics: Assessment, Climate Change, Cooperation, Governance
Countries: China, Russian Federation
Climate change has opened up previously frozen parts of the Arctic for navigation, and potentially for the development of natural resources. A strong case can be made for international cooperation in what remains a very challenging region of the world. At the same time, as a result of global geopolitical changes, the Arctic is becoming another theater for fierce competition between various countries. The continued rise of China to the position of a global superpower is inevitably leading to its participation in this competition alongside the Arctic littoral states. Cooperation between international players in the High North is taking place amid an atmosphere of renewed U.S.-Russian confrontation, as well as increasing rivalry between the United States and China. The U.S. government views Russia’s activity in the Arctic and China’s newfound presence in the region as a threat to the West.1 Russia, in turn, has expressed concern about the growing U.S. and NATO military activity in Europe’s North and the adjacent seas.