As global officials gather in the Icelandic capital to discuss trade and scientific research in the Arctic Sea, China is emerging as a strong voice in support of balancing healthy development with sustainability in the region, said an expert from the University of Oslo.
Reykjavik is hosting the Arctic Circle Assembly, which opened on Thursday with participants from around 70 countries. On the first day of the event, the spotlight was on a push to unlock potential global trade routes and more economic development in the region.
The impacts of climate change also remain a pressing topic for the Arctic ice, but in terms of trade, some are seeing a silver lining. Assembly attendees discussed opportunities for new routes due to melting sea ice, as well as new economic developments and more scientific research in the Arctic.
Erdem Lamazhapov, a research fellow specializing in Arctic geopolitics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and the University of Oslo, said he has been closely following China's contributions to these discussions in recent years.
"There is a polar code which determines which ships can travel through the Arctic region, and China, being a responsible great power, wants to have it happen sustainably so that it minimizes the impact on natural environment," Lamazhapov said on the sidelines of the Assembly.
Meanwhile, defense featured prominently on the agenda, especially at a time major powers such as Russia and the United States are looking into putting more into this region.
Going into the event, some progress had already been made. In September, a pact was signed between the United States, Greenland and Denmark at the UN General Assembly in New York, agreeing to Greenland's status as a semiautonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark and respecting the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination.
China upholds sustainable development in Arctic: expert
