64
Arctic Yearbook 2013
Li & Bertelsen
Perhaps the greatest change to the international system of the 21
st
century will be the rise of China.
As a rising power on a global scale, China sees itself as a legitimate stakeholder and participant in the
governance of regions around the world, including the Arctic. China is therefore availing itself of
Arctic science commensurate with its global role and pursuing a role in Arctic governance both
through permanent observership in the Arctic Council and diplomatic engagement of smaller Arctic
nations. However, China is a global power with global interests, and the Arctic is one of many
regions of importance to energy and shipping (Lasserre 2010; Alexeeva & Lasserre 2012a, 2012b;
Blunden 2012; Jakobson & Lee 2013; Stensdal 2013; Stokke 2013).
Notes
1.
China‘s core interests are defined by the government as including sustained economic
growth, the prevention of Taiwanese independence, China‘s return to as a global power
status, and the continuous leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The explicit
official expression of China‘s core interests (the three key components) can be seen from
China‘s former deputy minister of Foreign Affair, Dai Bingguo, who gave a speech in the
China-US Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in 2009 (Huang Hua, Gang Magazine,
No. 30.) Available from
http://www.huanghuagang.org/hhgMagazine/issue30/page112.html.
2.
See footnote 1.
References
Alexeeva, O. & F. Lasserre. (2012a). China and the Arctic. In L. Heininen. (Ed.).
Arctic Yearbook
2012
. (pp. 80-90). Akureyri: Northern Research Forum.
Alexeeva, O. & F. Lasserre. (2012b). The Snow Dragon: China‘s Strategies in the Arctic.
China
Perspectives
. (3): 61-68.
Arctic Focus. (2008, June 8). The Arctic Continues to be a Hot Topic in Trade. Retrieved from
http://arcticfocus.com/2008/06/08/the-arctic-continues-to-be-a-hot-topic-in-trade.
Blunden, M. (2012). Geopolitics and the Northern Sea Route.
International Affairs
. (88)1: 115-129.
8, pp. 698-701.
Borgerson, S. G. (2008, March/April). Arctic Meltdown.
Foreign Affairs
. (87)2: 64-77.
Cao, W. & Bluth, C. (2013). Challenges and Countermeasures of China‘s Energy Security.
Energy
Policy
. (53): 381-288.
Carmel, S. M. (2013). The Cold, Hard Realities of Arctic Shipping.
U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings
Magazine
. (139)7: 1325.