Name: Chinas Arctic ambition eye raw materials and military bases
Uploaded: 2025-11-24T20:47:32.107Z
Duration: 2 min 23 s
Description: China sees the Arctic as a key region for influence, aiming to shape governance rules and secure access to raw materials like rare earths, oil, and gas.

China sees the Arctic as a key region for influence, aiming to shape governance rules and secure access to raw materials like rare earths, oil, and gas.

The Arctic is becoming a focal point in international politics as melting ice opens new trade routes and access to valuable resources. China is expanding its ambitions in the region, aiming to secure raw materials and establish military bases, while also seeking to influence the rules governing the Arctic.

These moves have heightened tensions with European countries and the United States, both of which are also seeking to protect their interests in the Arctic. Europe, in particular, is only beginning to recognize the strategic importance of the region and has yet to develop a unified approach.

China's Arctic ambition eye raw materials and military bases

The Arctic is becoming the focus of global power politics. As the ice melts, new trade routes are opening up. The Northern Sea Route along the Russian coast is already passable during the summer. And by 2030, it may be completely ice-free even during winter months. Researchers say the Central Arctic route is becoming navigable as a result of climate change. The Northern Sea Route shortens the travel time between Europe and Asia by about 15 days compared to going through the Suez Canal and even longer if you compare it to the routes that go around the Horn of Africa. New trade routes is one way the landscape is changing. But China's ambitions go further. Raw materials, military bases. The Arctic is one of the regions where China wants to gain political influence. That's according to the think tank, the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. One of the objectives that China has for the Arctic as well is to be able to shape the rules that govern the region. And China wants to do this in ways that will clash with European priorities and values, for example, by eliminating any universally binding rules and putting national interest and national sovereignty at the top. Conflict with Europe seems inevitable. Several European countries, like Norway and Finland, are partially located in the Arctic. The United States is also making massive efforts to gain influence, for example, in Greenland. Europe is under pressure and fears for its own interests, for example, in terms of raw materials. The Arctic has large deposits of rare earth elements, oil and gas, that Europe was one of the actors hoping to potentially explore in the future. While China is increasingly turning to Russia to assert its interests in the Arctic, Europe has so far been without its own strategy. Only recently has a realization dawned that the Arctic is of crucial importance for Europe's economy, security and geopolitical weight.

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