China’s Polar Ambitions: The case of Sino-Icelandic relations

• Main Author: Danner, Lukas K
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: ePublications@bond 2017
• Subjects: China; Arctic; Iceland; Strategy; Sino-Icelandic Foreign Relations; International Relations; North Pole
• Online Access: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/eassc_publications/86

In the past decade, China has increasingly shown interest in the Arctic. This is counterintuitive insofar, as any claim to the North Pole (and Arctic Sea) cannot be made based on China’s geography, yet indicative of China’s increasingly global view to national security. This paper will trace the evolution of China’s Polar strategy in the past few years and aim to theoretically contextualize it. It will look specifically at China’s engagement with Iceland, especially in the aftermath of the Global Recession, as a case study of China’s emergent Arctic strategy—identifying political, technological, economic, as well as security aspects therein.