Polar Hook: China urged to fight US influence in the Arctic

The US claims to Greenland are beginning to worry not only European allies. Washington's actions in the Arctic undermine stability and run counter to Beijing's interests, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui told Izvestia. The diplomat also called for ensuring free logistics and uninterrupted cargo transportation through the Northern Sea Route. At the same time, analysts point to the limited nature of cooperation between Beijing and Nuuk and predict a restrained reaction to attempts by the United States to strengthen its presence on the island. Against this background, the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland are trying to enlist the support of Berlin and Paris. What could be a potential mega—deal on the world's largest island - in the material of Izvestia.

China's position on Greenland

The United States is not going to abandon plans to establish control over Greenland. Denmark continues to insist on maintaining sovereignty over the island, but is ready for dialogue on expanding the American presence. Meanwhile, the situation is causing concern not only among Washington's European allies, but also among other powers.

The US actions in the Arctic are destabilizing the situation in the region and run counter to China's interests, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui told Izvestia.

— What the Americans are doing, they want to block and close all these channels, is not only contrary to our will and interests, it is already undermining stability and peace in the world. Of course, our countries are not the only ones opposed. I think there are a lot of states in the world that object. We must fight against such phenomena. We need to work together to ensure the safety and free transportation of our goods," the diplomat said.

The Chinese representative stressed that Beijing maintains relations with Moscow on the security of the Northern Sea Route. According to him, countries should take a coordinated position to protect common interests. The Russian Federation recognizes Greenland as the territory of Denmark, and the Kremlin called the US claims extraordinary from the point of view of international law.

— We always maintain close contacts and cooperation with Russia on the issue of the Northern Sea Route. It is our rights to ensure free logistics and uninterrupted transportation of our goods through the NSR and other channels. So we must categorically defend our rights. And, of course, we need to cooperate, coordinate our positions, strengthen and protect our positions and common interests," the ambassador said.

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China's cooperation with Greenland is limited, Zhang Hanhui noted. Earlier, representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeatedly called on the United States to stop using the "Chinese threat" as an excuse to justify its interests in the Arctic and claims to Greenland, in particular. According to the White House, "Russian and Chinese ships are allegedly everywhere around the island," and Denmark is "unable to strengthen the security" of the territory.

Moscow has denied any Russian or Chinese claims to the island. Moreover, Vladimir Putin stressed that the situation around Greenland does not concern Russia at all. The Kremlin only drew attention to the fact that Trump will certainly go down in world history if Greenland is annexed.

If the United States continues to step up efforts to annex the island, China will limit itself to a diplomatic campaign that would benefit its image and promote global initiatives. Most likely, Beijing will conduct it in a limited way, Andrei Fedotov, a junior researcher at the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the IMEMO RAS, noted in a conversation with Izvestia.

A certain amount of restraint must be observed — it is unlikely that China wants the "trade truce" reached at the meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump last October to come to naught, the expert suggests.

The fact of the mutual confrontation between Beijing and Washington cannot be ignored. In this context, China can use the "European map". Any contradictions between the United States and Europe are beneficial to Beijing, as it provides an opportunity to promote dialogue with the EU. European leaders are also interested in contacts with Beijing: French President Emmanuel Macron visited China in December 2025, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer went there on January 28.

China's interests in Greenland

In 2018, China published a White Paper on the Arctic, in which it described itself as a near-Arctic state and an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs. Thus, China, not being an Arctic state, is trying on a discursive level to create an image of a country whose interests in the region need to be taken into account.

Previously, Chinese companies really tried to gain a foothold in Greenland — they offered investments in infrastructure projects (for example, airports) and in the extraction of mineral resources. But they did not lead to anything serious, including due to opposition from the United States and Denmark, Andrei Fedotov emphasized.

The current level of China's interaction with Greenland is clearly demonstrated by trade. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China, by the end of 2025, its volume amounted to $429 million, with almost $420 million of them accounted for by Greenland's exports to China. For example, Greenland halibut provides $180 million. And autonomy buys mainly consumer goods, tires, toys and stationery.

Tigran Meloyan, an employee of the Center for Interdisciplinary Arctic Research at the Higher School of Economics and an analyst at the Center for Mediterranean Studies at the Higher School of Economics, stressed in a conversation with Izvestia that until recently, Chinese companies had focused special attention on the Citronen zinc-lead deposit, the Wegener Halvo copper mine, the Isua iron ore deposit and the uranium deposit. "Kvanefjeld." All of the listed projects are currently suspended or cancelled.

Arctic movement: the situation around Greenland does not affect the Northern Sea Route

The United States is discussing the parameters of a deal on the island

— China is interested in scientific and technical cooperation with Arctic countries and the creation of ground-based sensing stations for Arctic space observations. An example of such cooperation is the installation in 2017 of a Chinese ground-based satellite reception station in the Greenland settlement of Kangerlussuaq. At the moment, the exact status of the station is unknown, according to some open data, it could cease to function," the expert said.

Meloyan is confident that Greenland's attractiveness to China is determined by the fact that the island may be a hypothetical endpoint of the Polar Silk Road through the Transpolar Sea Route, whose most of the route is not covered by exclusive economic zones or territorial waters of the Arctic states.

Will the United States try to capture Greenland in the near future

Now the West continues to discuss the parameters of the Greenland deal. The breakthrough allegedly occurred during a meeting between Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

According to the Axios portal, the project proposed by Rutte provides for the preservation of Danish sovereignty over Greenland and the renewal of the terms of the agreement on the island's defense signed in 1951. This will allow the United States to establish military bases and "defense zones" there, if NATO deems it necessary. In return, the host of the White House promised not to impose duties on all goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland.

The prototype of the future agreement may be the so-called Cyprus model, according to which the UK has sovereignty over the territories of its military bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia. This would allow the United States to own 3% of Greenland's land as its own sovereign territory without buying the entire island. Washington already has Pituffik Air Base, and previously the United States owned two more military facilities on the island.

The authorities of Greenland and Denmark emphasize that sovereignty is not for sale, and any transfer of land under the full ownership of the United States is unacceptable. Against the background of external pressure, Nuuk and Copenhagen demonstrate rare unity, preparing a joint diplomatic position for upcoming meetings with the American administration.

Their delegations even travel to negotiations together: on January 14, the foreign Ministers of Denmark and Greenland met with US Vice President Jay Dee Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. On January 27, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held talks with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and assured them of his support. Then the heads of government of Denmark and Greenland went to Paris.

At a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, the Danish Prime Minister unexpectedly admitted that the current world order is rapidly transforming. And in it, Europe will have to become stronger in order to defend itself. The French leader noted that the EU should review its Arctic policy and develop cooperation with Greenland, especially in the field of minerals.

On the same day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a Senate hearing that the United States, in negotiations with European partners, would be able to find a solution to the Greenland problem that would suit everyone. At the same time, Rubio acknowledged that "a lot of work remains to be done" to resolve issues related to it.

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Earlier, a combined European contingent was sent to Greenland, deployed at the request of Denmark. However, this mission is clearly symbolic in nature: only about 50 military personnel from different European countries took part in it. Moreover, some of Denmark's allies have already recalled the soldiers — the Bundeswehr intelligence group stayed on the island for only two days.

Since Trump and Rutte managed to agree on a framework agreement, new escalation rounds around Greenland are unlikely, Ivan Loshkarev, associate professor at the MGIMO Department of Political Theory at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia. He stressed that Donald Trump's demands are extremely vague: their scale ranges from providing infrastructure for the deployment of a new missile defense system to acquiring the entire island and projects to extract resources there.

— The middle ground may be to add something else near-military to military installations. And here there is a space for bargaining. We know very well that the Europeans are very good at creating a framework for negotiations, coordinating, clarifying, and updating existing agreements. I think they will safely do this until the end of Trump's presidential term," the political scientist concluded.

There is another domestic political factor: midterm congressional elections will be held in the United States in November. Therefore, the White House administration is unlikely to decide on an operation similar to the attack on Venezuela, Loshkarev believes. Probably, everything will be limited to the level of harsh messages on social networks.