Energy cooperation of Russia and China in the Arctic: state and prospects

ABSTRACT

In the twenty-first century the Arctic region remains strategically important for many states located both inside and outside the Arctic. The transformation of the Arctic into an outpost of the world economy is dictated by the rapid and irreversible changes in the natural, socio-economic and political environment, among which two interrelated features stand out: climate change and globalization. The article focuses on analyzing the features of energy interaction between Russia and the People's Republic of China in the Russian Arctic. Over the past two years, the development of the Arctic, including the Russian Arctic zone, has been strongly influenced by the exacerbation of the Ukrainian crisis. The termination of Russia’s cooperation with member countries and the majority of observer states of the Arctic Council towards the implementation of industrial projects in the Russian Arctic has strengthened the so-called ‘orientation to the east’ in Russian Arctic policy. The current macroeconomic situation creates the preconditions for the development of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, primarily with China. The publication analyzes the current stage of Russian-Chinese relations and examines the prospects for interstate energy cooperation in the Arctic.

KEYWORDS:

• Arctic zone of the Russian Federation
• international cooperation
• northern sea route
• hydrocarbons

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The research is partially funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation as part of the World-class Research Center program: Advanced Digital Technologies [grant no contract No. 075-15-2022-311 dated 20 April 2022].