The first Chinese cargo ship traveling along the Northern Sea Route is set to dock in England this week, reflecting Beijing’s growing Arctic ambitions, though analysts cast doubt on the venture’s commercial feasibility.
China considers itself a near-Arctic power and has moved to deepen its presence there; it conducted its first joint sea ice survey with Russia this week.
Though the northern route is thousands of miles shorter than alternatives, the ship “Dubai Tower” is running behind schedule, reflecting the broader difficulties in traversing the unpredictable, ice-laden route.
But “China is a master at doing things that don’t seem commercial, necessarily, in the beginning,” an Atlantic Council expert told The New York Times; eventually “it all adds up to a geostrategic win.”