China's market, investment and labor forces could assist
China can play a bigger role in the increasingly ice-free Arctic, using its investment advantages and the size of its markets
and labor force, but it is "far from becoming a power player in the Arctic",
said the head of the polar strategic research division under the Polar
Research Institute of China.
On Dec 10, the center in Shanghai was officially inaugurated when 10
research institutions from China, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and
Sweden signed an agreement to boost cooperation in Arctic research.
Research shows that the Arctic is expected to become ice-free in coming decades as temperatures there rise twice as fast as in the
rest of the world. There is an increasing possibility of a much shorter
commercial sea route and a longer navigable period in the Arctic Ocean.
"The shorter and safer route through the Arctic would cut thousands of
kilometers — and considerable costs — off the journey from China to
trading partners like Europe," said Zhang. Cheaper shipping would also
bring the cost of the region's natural resources down and help deliver
them to the international market more easily," he said.
The US Geological Survey estimates that there are 90 billion barrels of oil
north of the Arctic Circle, enough to fuel the world for three years at
current consumption rates. Most of the oil is within the uncontested
jurisdictions of Norway, Russia, Canada, Denmark and the US.
However, offshore oil drilling is challenging and expensive. Difficulties
such as long distances,harsh weather and poor infrastructure require
advanced technologies and vast amounts of funding.
Canada lacks roads and pipelines to its Arctic coast and has just
one deep-water Arctic port,located in Hudson Bay, far south of the
Arctic Circle. The US has no Arctic ports and faces massive costs to
repair damage being caused to existing roads, pipelines and buildings
by melting permafrost, Michael Byers, a professor of global politics
and international law at the University of British Columbia, said in an
article earlier this year.
"If Beijing were to offer concrete and lasting benefits, such as funding
for ports and other multiuse infrastructure, Chinese investments in
Arctic offshore oil would be looked upon more favorably," he wrote.
Zhang said China's interest and investment in the Arctic are not for
resource plundering.
"It is clear that these resources are not ours, but they could diversify
and secure China's energy sources. For China, it is about having
more options in case of emergency, and for the Arctic countries, it is
about having one more market," he said.
"Many Arctic issues besides energy concern the whole international
community," he added.
According to Zhang, climate changes in the Arctic, which have a
global impact, have driven countries in the region and beyond to
examine the links. Extreme weather in northern and eastern China,
for instance, can be predicted by calculating the shrinking size of
sea ice in the Arctic.
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