POLAR PUSH

China is expanding its High North knowledge by paying to join Russian scientific expeditions, further fueling the West's concerns about potential military use of research

- BY DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW

FROZEN HIGHWAY China wants to gain access to the Arctic as part of efforts to build a "Silk Road on Ice."

CHINA IS PAYING RUSSIA HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF dollars to join its scientific expeditions to the Arctic, as it seeks to expand its footprint in the icy region at the center of a geopolitical security contest highlighted by President Donald Trump.

China's presence on the Russian ships was disclosed to Newsweek by Chinese researchers and officials who gathered at a research conference in the Arctic Circle in early February. Newsweek was one of the only Western media outlets present at the Chinese event in Norway.

One Chinese researcher who works at a state institute told Newsweek that Russia had conceded to allowing Chinese teams on the trips because its wartime industry needed funds. “Russia is very territorial” about its long Arctic coast and has denied China permission to build research stations there, but “they need money because of the war in Ukraine,” said the researcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to political sensitivities.

“We go with them and we bring back samples,” the researcher said, referring to natural materials such as water, rocks and sediment. They declined to specify the cost but said it was less than one million Chinese yuan ($120,000) per trip. There have been four joint Arctic expeditions since 2016, Chinese sources said, with the pace expected to pick up.

China-Russia Collaboration

Russia carefully guards its Arctic coastline, half the world's total, but the disclosures confirmed another step in China's quest to gain access to the polar region as part of its multiyear effort to build a “Silk Road on Ice.”