ARKTİK’TE STRATEJİK İŞBİRLİĞİ YOLUYLA ÇİN’İN EKONOMİK GÜVENLİĞİNİ ARTIRMAK: KUTUP İPEK YOLU İNİSİYATİFİ

Global warming is profoundly affecting the world's nature. As the population grows, so its dramatic impact increases. The increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the leading cause of melting icebergs in the Arctic region; on the other hand, it paves the way for maritime transportation without using the ice-cutters. Today's economic giant China is sending its products to the European markets via Suez Canal. However, if the Arctic route provides an opportunity, shipping time will fall by nearly a third. Usage of the new path will have increased the export of more Chinese goods from China. So, it would positively influence its economy in the future. Aware of this fact, Xi Jinping wants to work with regional states such as Russia by allocating a considerable amount of funding in opening a new Arctic passage as an alternative to the southern route. This study tries to explain the potential transit situation of the Arctic and its impact on China’s economy by the transportation of goods to Europe and North America.

ENHANCING ECONOMIC SECURITY OF CHINA THOROUGH THE STRATEGIC COOPERATION IN THE ARCTIC: THE POLAR SILK ROAD INITIATIVE

___

  • ASSEF, N. A. (2018). China's Polar Silk Road: Overview, Challenges & Opportunities. Challenges & Opportunities (May 15, 2018).
  • CHEN, G. (2012). China’s emerging Arctic strategy, The Polar Journal, 2:2, 358-371, DOI: 10.1080/2154896X.2012.735039
  • GAO, T., & EROKHIN, V. (2020). China-Russia collaboration in arctic shipping and maritime engineering. The Polar Journal, 10(2), 353-374.
  • HARPER, J. (2021), ‘Suez Blockage Is Holding Up $9.6bn of Goods a Day’, BBC News, (Retrieved from) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56533250
  • HONG, N. (2012). The melting Arctic and its impact on China’s maritime transport. Research in transportation economics, 35(1), 50-57.
  • HUANG, L., Lasserre, F. & Alexeeva,O. (2015) Is China's interest for the Arctic driven by Arctic shipping potential?, Asian Geographer, 32:1, 59-71, DOI: 10.1080/10225706.2014.928785
  • LI, Z. F. (2018). Bishangsichouzhilu yu Beijihangxian kaifa [The polar Silk Road and the development of the Northern Sea route]. Renminluntan: Xueshuqianyan, 2018(11), 60–69.
  • MANTA, F. (2019). China’s policies on Polar Silk Road and impacts on trade and energy use in Arctic region. Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment, 17(4), 322-328.
  • NG, A. K., Andrews, J., Babb, D., Lin, Y., & Becker, A. (2018). Implications of climate change for shipping: Opening the Arctic seas. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 9(2), 507.
  • Oxford Analytica (2018), ‘Polar Silk Road will reshape trade and geopolitics’. Retrieved from https://dailybrief.oxan.com/Analysis/DB238508/Polar-Silk-Road-will-reshape-trade-and-geopolitics
  • RUSSON, M.A. (2021), ‘The Cost of the Suez Canal Blockage’, BBC News, (Retrieved from) https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56559073
  • THEOCHARIS, D., PETTIT, S., RODRIGUES, V. S., & HAIDER, J. (2018). Arctic shipping: A systematic literature review of comparative studies. Journal of Transport Geography, 69, 112-128.
  • TILLMAN, H., et.al. (2018). The polar silk road: China’s new frontier of international cooperation. China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, 4(03), 345-362.
  • TORRENT, J. (2019). ‘New Arctic Routes: Breaking the Ice of North Pole Shipping’, (Retrieved from) https://piernext.portdebarcelona.cat/en/logistics/new-arctic-routes-breaking-the-ice-of-north-pole-shipping/#:~:text=The%20melting%20of%20ice%20in,150%20days%20of%20sailable%20waters.
  • UNCTAD, (2018), ‘Review of Maritime Transport 2018’, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (Retrieved from) https://unctad.org/webflyer/review-maritime-transport-2018#:~:text=Maritime%20transport%20is%20the%20backbone,upswing%20in%20the%20world%20economy.
  • WOON, C. Y. (2020). Framing the “Polar Silk Road”: Critical geopolitics, Chinese scholars and the (Re) Positionings of China's Arctic interests. Political Geography, 78, 102141.
  • WRIGHT, D. C. (2011). A Dragon Eyes the Top of the World: Arctic Policy Debate and Discussion in China. China Maritime Studies Institute, US Naval War College.
  • WU, K. J., et.al. (2021). Opportunity or threat in balancing social, economic and environmental impacts: The appearance of the Polar Silk Road. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 88, 106570.