Going North

Abstract

When China announced its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), most of the attention focused on the joint building of transportation infrastructure across the Eurasian landmass and the Indian Ocean. However, with the release of the Arctic Policy in 2018, China incorporated the Arctic shipping lanes into the BRI transport network. Development of shipping in polar waters requires collaboration with Arctic countries. This chapter discusses the challenges China faces in exploring new maritime ways in the Arctic and collaborating with Russia in the development of the Arctic Blue Economic Corridor. The investment projects in the Arctic are considered in the format of eight development zones located in the polar regions along Russian part of the Northern Sea Route. The author concludes that Arctic shipping lanes have a great potential to be efficiently incorporated into the BRI transport network. However, there are many specific technological and economic challenges to be considered and met before polar transport routes may become any viable alternatives to southern maritime routes used by China.