A blessing or a curse? China’s Arctic involvement and its environmental policy to prevent further climatic change and pollution

Abstract

The protection and sustainable use of environmental resources is one of the most salient tasks in Arctic regional governance, given that the region is a particularly fragile zone threatened by global warming and polar pollution. In recent years, as the People’s Republic of China has significantly increased its economic presence in the High North, whether and how Beijing’s Arctic engagement has influenced its efforts to prevent further climatic change associated with global warming and the accumulation of toxic substances are particularly important questions in the study of Arctic politics and global environmental governance. Borrowing insights from the costly signaling literature, this article presents an investigation of these questions. Contrary to the popular “Western-based” perspective that Beijing’s Arctic involvement will inevitably exaggerate human-induced environmental hazards, I argue that China’s pursuit to integrate itself into Arctic affairs and foster a responsible great power image incentivizes it to pledge more ambitious environmental policies as a costly signal to demonstrate that the rising power is willing to adhere to the Arctic’s existing norms and rules instead of challenging the status quo. Thus, China’s engagement can contribute to environmental governance and sustainable development in the Arctic region. Relying on a set of time-series error correction models and ordinary least-square regression models, the analysis shows that China’s Arctic engagement is positively correlated with its environmental policy stringency. This research advances the understanding of the implications of under-studied state actors for Arctic sustainable development and environmental governance, suggesting that the international community can benefit from accepting China into the Arctic instead of pushing it away from the circle.