China sees an opportunity as once-frozen Northern Sea Route is now opened by global warming

A Portuguese-flagged cargo ship called Baltic Winter set a speed record in September that went unnoticed outside the maritime community, crossing the icy waters of the Northern Sea Route above the Arctic Circle in just 5.6 days.

One result of the global warming phenomenon has been to open up previously frozen waters around the North Pole to international shipping, providing new and speedier routes between Asia and Europe.

It is a development that has spurred China's plans for a Polar Silk Road across the Arctic by improving navigation and logistics in the region.

A white paper published this month on China's Arctic policy also detailed proposals for tapping the resources of the 14.2-square-kilometer region, as well as promoting tourism, conservation and scientific research.

The Chinese proposals acknowledged, on one hand, the overall threat posed by climate change, which might be exacerbated by melting ice in the Arctic and lead to rising sea levels, increased extreme weather events and threats to biodiversity.

"On the other, with the ice melted," according to the white paper, "conditions for the development of the Arctic may be gradually changed, offering opportunities for the commercial use of sea routes and development of resources in the region".

The benefits in terms of international trade are self-evident. By taking the Arctic route, Baltic Winter trimmed its journey time on a route from the Chinese port of Taicang to Bremerhaven in Germany.

Russian transportation officials predict that cargo traffic along the North Sea Route will grow tenfold by 2020. The route is now navigable for two to four months, but that period can be extended by using icebreakers. It reduces the 23,000-km Suez Canal route from St. Petersburg in western Russia to Vladivostok in the east to around 14,000 km.

Specially equipped vessels will now be able to use the northern route to ship liquefied natural gas from Russia's newly opened Arctic facility at Yamal to China, Japan and South Korea.

Although China does not border the region, its interest in its development is linked to broader plans for enhancing international trade through the Belt and Road Initiative.

Beijing's white paper called for international cooperation on improving and operating Arctic routes. It also affirmed that freedom of navigation for all countries, in accordance with the law, should be ensured.

Chinese officials were at pains to quell the suspicions of other governments that its Arctic plans might amount to an incursion into territory beyond its immediate sphere of influence.

"It is completely unnecessary to doubt our intentions or worry about plundering of resources or destruction of the environment," Kong Xuanyou, vice-minister of foreign affairs, told a news conference at which the white paper was released.

Sovereignty in the region rests with Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. However, since 2013, China has been one of the 13 non-Arctic region states that have observer status in the Arctic Council, which promotes cooperation, coordination and interaction.

The white paper said that China is an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs, as one of the continental states closest to the Arctic Circle. "The natural conditions of the Arctic and their changes have a direct impact on China's climate system and ecological environment and, in turn, on its economic interests in agriculture, forestry, fishery, marine industry and other sectors."

Since 2013, China has held Arctic-related talks with a number of Arctic Council partners and holds a regular dialogue with Russia on the region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a lengthy pre-New Year news conference, touched on the issue when he said the Arctic was a key area for cooperation with China. Beijing "expresses big interest to the Northern Sea Route", Putin said.

"I hope we soon will be able to achieve economically far more favorable transportation of goods between Asia and Europe on the Northern Sea Route compared with alternative routes," he said, adding that "we will, in all possible ways, encourage China's use of these advantages".

source：http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2018-02/02/content_35631521.htm