CHINA and Russia are stepping up efforts to develop Arctic shipping routes amid growing geopolitical tensions between both countries and the West.
The two nations had reached consensus on the mechanism and goals of a subcommittee on cooperation on the Northern Sea Route - which spans 5,600km (3,500 miles) from the Barents Sea near Scandinavia to the Bering Strait near Alaska - China's Transport Ministry said recently.
The two sides' subcommittee met recently with Transport Minister Liu Wei heading the Chinese delegation and Alexey Likhachev, the chief of Russia's state-owned atomic energy conglomerate Rosatom, leading the Russian one, reports Hong Kong's SCMP.
"The Chinese side is willing to work with Russia to fully leverage the role of the mechanism, enhance the shipping capacity of the Arctic area, ensure sailing safety of the region, and promote new progress in polar vessel construction," said Mr Liu, who was appointed transport minister last month.
Mr Likhachev said Rosatom, which Moscow has tasked with developing the Northern Sea Route, looked forward to deepening cooperation with the Chinese side in areas including Arctic shipping, sailing safety and vessel technology.
The subcommittee, established in August, is a dialogue mechanism linked to the annual meetings between the heads of the Chinese and Russian governments.
As well as focusing on collaboration on sailing development, shipping security, and vessel technology and construction in the Arctic area, it also aims to promote the role of Arctic passages in international sailing, enhance the service capacities of icebreakers, and encourage Chinese and Russian firms to work together to operate shipping businesses in the region.
Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Beijing's Renmin University, said the exploration of Arctic passages would be of strategic importance for China as a major exporter to Europe.
"Marine logistics from China to Europe has traditionally been reliant on the Suez Canal," he said. "Now such routes are affected by hostilities in the Middle East, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict has had an impact on railway logistics. Therefore, it would be strategically important to connect China and Europe through Arctic Sea routes."
But Mr Wang added that the Arctic's potential was tied up with geopolitical tensions, and it would be challenging for China and Russia to coordinate with European countries in conducting scientific research and formulating regional rules.
Arctic issues have been frequently discussed at the bilateral heads of government meetings since 2018, when Beijing published a white paper on its Arctic policies, aiming to integrate the Arctic waterways into its Belt and Road Initiative as a "Polar Silk Road".
China, which has positioned itself as a "near-Arctic state", has been eyeing the Arctic Circle's shipping potential as climate change melts away the ice that previously blocked passages providing short cuts from East Asia to western Europe.
The shipping route from Lianyungang in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu to Rotterdam in the Netherlands is traditionally around 20,000km.
But it could be shortened by 25 per cent and the sailing time could be reduced by 10 to 15 days via the Arctic region, according to a study by Pei Yunying, a manager of state-owned PetroChina International, that was published this year in the Journal of Eurasian Economy.
Mr Wang said that as the country with the largest sovereignty claim in the Arctic, Russia was previously not interested in development initiatives from other countries, including China. But sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine had changed its outlook.
https://www.shippingazette.com/news?news_id=9241200000011
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