Main Directions of Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China in the Arctic

• Published in: Administrative Consulting
• Main Author: D. N. Veselova
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: North-West institute of management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration 2022
• Subjects: the arctic region; white paper «china’s arctic policy»; the northern sea route; the hydrocarbon feedstock; the energy security; national interests; environmental safety; Political institutions and public administration (General); JF20-2112; Arctic; Northern Sea Route
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.22394/1726-1139-2022-12-42-61; https://doaj.org/article/c52995d3b1024a88b66a65733eaaa106

The article discusses the main areas of partnership between Russia and China in the Arctic zone, and also highlights the points of contact between the two countries in the Arctic. The national interests of Beijing and Moscow in the researched region are being studied.Aim. To identify the main areas for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China in the Arctic.The following methodology and methods were used: neo-institutional approach, generalization, synthesis, systems approach, analysis of documents.Results. The article considers the national interests of Russia in the Arctic, among which the main ones are political and economic: the ensuring of the sovereignty of the country, the mining of the region and the developing of the Northern Sea Route. Chinese interests in the Arctic studied. The author divided them into three groups: economic, geopolitical and ecological. The priority interests are economic ones, despite the fact that the Chinese side is trying to disguise them as ecological interests. The paper identifies six areas for further cooperation between countries in the Arctic: the development of oil and gas fields, the development of the infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route and the increase in the volume and number of transportations along it, the interaction in the field of environmental protection in the Arctic, the development of critical technologies, the organization of tourism, the formation technologies for the extraction of clean energy. In addition to directions for collaboration, the author also touches upon the topic of disagreements between states on various issues, in particular on the issues of the determining of the legal regime of the territories and water areas of the Arctic, as well as the implementation of the Arctic policy by Moscow and Beijing.Conclusions. The main areas for cooperation between China and Russia in the Arctic are gas and oil production in the Russian Arctic, the supply of hydrocarbons from Russia to China as a priority, as well as ...