BEIJING – China has expressed its ambitions to extend Belt and RoadInitiative to the Arctic by developing shipping lanes opened up by globalwarming.
Releasing its first official Arctic policy white paper on Friday, Beijingsaid it would encourage enterprises to build infrastructure and conductcommercial trial voyages, paving the way for Arctic shipping routes thatwould form a Polar Silk Road.
China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in thepolar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013.