A Primary Node of the Global Economy: China and the Arctic

Abstract

This chapter discusses the role of the Arctic in China’s global vision, which seeks to reposition the country as a primary node of global flows of energy, goods, technology, data, and knowledge. The chapter begins by introducing the flow-centric lens through which China’s global economic outreach and its region-based execution are interpreted. In particular, it proposes an alternative approach of China’s functional economic regions, a novel conceptual framework challenging the Euro-centric reading of space that dominates most analyses of China’s global engagement. The chapter continues by providing an overview of the political goals of China’s primary node vision, setting the scene for the following empirical section that investigates the make-up of the China– Arctic functional economic region. This is done by tracing flows of (1) natural resources, (2) seaborne goods, and (3) technology, knowledge, and data, and discussing their role in China’s economic development and goals of the primary node vision. As China’s Arctic engagement is as much about future potential as about actual developments, the empirical analysis also takes into account possible and probable developments that carry the potential to shape China–Arctic flows. Finally, the conclusion elaborates on the future prospects and implications of the emerging China– Arctic functional economic region.

The author wishes to thank Outi Luova, Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, Juha Vuori, Yue Wang, Egill Thor Nielsson, and the editors for the useful comments that have enabled her to improve the chapter.