China and the Eastern vector of Russian Arctic policy

Due to continuous economic growth over several decades, China is becoming increasingly integrated into the system of international relations. Today, China is one of the leading economies, which functioning requires a huge amount of resources. This fact is a factor that causes interest in the riches of the Arctic. The paper describes China’s Arctic ambitions, explains the what are they based on and briefly analyze the White paper - country’s strategy for the Arctic region, where for the first time the priorities of the state policy in the region are officially stated. The overall picture of Russia’s Arctic policy with its main objectives and challenges is also presented. It argues that Sino-Russian partnership became possible mostly due to imposed sanctions and aims to compensate decreasing Western investment. This cooperation partly contributes to the solution of some problems, but still China is able to

«replace» European and American partners only in terms of investments - China does not have the technologies necessary for Arctic offshore drilling, and it is unknown whether they will appear in the near future. Considering China’s economic prevalence and emerging geopolitical interests author argued that Russian government, as well as any other littoral Arctic state, should be careful while using Chinese investment. The Russian-Chinese partnership, being an alternative to cooperation with Western countries in some respects, is obviously unequal, and, therefore, should be supported solely based on Russian national interests and existing international norms and institutions in relation to the Arctic.

Keywords

China, Russia, international relations, sanction

Publication date

26.03.2020

Number of characters

19203

Cite

GOST	Galimullin E. China and the «Eastern vector» of Russian Arctic policy // Asia and Africa Today – 2020. – Issue 2 C. 57-63 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://asaf-today.ru/S032150750008474-3-1 (circulation date: 05.12.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S032150750008474-3
MLA	Galimullin, Eduard Z. "China and the «Eastern vector» of Russian Arctic policy." Asia and Africa Today 2 (2020):57-63. DOI: 10.31857/S032150750008474-3
APA	Galimullin E. (2020). China and the «Eastern vector» of Russian Arctic policy. Asia and Africa Today (2), pp.57-63 DOI: 10.31857/S032150750008474-3

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