CNARC Roundtable

Egill Þór Níelsson, Nordic coordinator of CNARC, the China-Nordic Arctic Research Centre in Shanghai, will present news and views on the China - Nordic Arctic cooperation at this roundtable at NIAS.

China’s Arctic Policy  – The Belt and Road Initiative into the Nordic Countries

China published its first Arctic Policy White Paper in January 2018 following years of preparation. With China having joined the Arctic Council as an observer in 2013 and included the Arctic region in its Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative in June 2017. What does it mean that the Belt and Road Initiative has entered the Arctic region? How is this likely to affect potential Arctic investments for years to come?

The focus of this talk will be on China’s Arctic engagement, cooperation with the Nordic Countries, and its impact on Arctic developments in an evolving world order.

Bio: Egill Þór Níelsson is Executive Secretary of China-Nordic Arctic Research Center (www.cnarc.info), Visiting Scholar at the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) and Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS), and Affiliated Researcher at the Institute of International Affairs, University of Iceland.

Preliminary programme:

15.00 Welcome by NIAS director, Geir Helgesen

15.05 Introduction to CNARC – and Q&A

15.20 Presentation on China’s Arctic Policy and Belt and Road Initiative

15.35 Q&A

16.00 Round-up by Geir