The Rising of China Arctic

[Music] in 2013 the Yong Chang made history it was the first Chinese cargo ship to reach Europe through the Arctic the Yong Chang became a symbol after having taken this mythical route that Beijing came to rename the polar Silk Road a symbol for China's new Ambitions in the high North China regards itself rightly as a superpower and that they should have a finger in all parts of the world China is very well aware that a lot of its uh Economic Security is going to continue to be based on developing trade routes through the Belton Road initiative yet the Arctic seems pretty far away from Beijing but xiin ping China's new leader understood the stakes under his rule the Middle Kingdom would come to meet the roof of the world when xiin ping became president of China that was the time when China sort of came onto the map China's need for resources LED shiin ping to deal with the great Baltic Powers who met him with distrust what does China want beijing's involvement in the high North changes the game Beijing claims to be a near Arctic State there are only Arctic States and non Arctic [Music] States the arctic's new geopolitics also plays out on the ground far from Capital Cities and slights of hand the envoys entrepreneurs and intermediaries are Chinese but also Norwegian Icelandic Swedish American the Chinese were actually securing their interest but for us it was an opportunity to to be accounted for [Music] for China is expanding but its true ambition remains a mystery after China Africa would we soon be talking about the China Arctic China so they say has time on its side and it no longer conceals its dreams of becoming a superpower [Music] it all starts here in Shanghai far from the [Music] Arctic the coastal Megapolis of Eastern China is under threat as the ice caps continue to melt floods often hit the Chinese economic capital the impact of global warming will be increasingly felt shanghai's feet are in [Music] water the Chinese have been using this as an argument for years at International Summits in the name of climate Beijing sees it as its duty to invest in the Arctic [Music] [Music] this climate argument may be valid but it omits a great deal about China's intentions in the Arctic there are three priorities um for China in the polar region first of all security and that includes traditional and non-traditional security uh resources and in the most broader sense of the word of resources and science particularly strategic science when China starts to show interest in the Arctic the climate argument presents a considerable Advantage with regards to the International opinion it is legitimate and hard to contest China insists on this climate danger even more given its geographical distance from the Arctic superpowers converge in this region Russia dominates half the Arctic the United States have Alaska and the North American Ally Canada and then there's Europe through Greenland a Danish territory and Norway way China therefore adopts a cautious approach to avoid upsetting the Arctic superpowers China based a lot of its early Arctic policy on the need to develop scientific cooperation so I would say scientific diplomacy was very much a first step in a lot of China's Arctic diplomatic [Music] engagement the Chinese Institute for Polar research is created in Shanghai in 1989 in order to deploy scientific power in the polls the country's leading scientists work on all fronts glaciology oceanography biology yet this institute is not placed under the authority of the environmental ministry as one would expect but under that of the ministry for natural resources in order to establish its scientific legitimacy China first had to explore the polar regions in the field or rather in the Seas as early as 30 years ago they decided to equip themselves with an icebreaker proof that they took the whole Affair seriously very early on a used cargo ship was given a mysterious new name Shong the snow [Music] dragon before the sh goes to Scientific Expeditions they also have a kind of semi ceremony for the start and China will make the most of it turning each appearance of the Shong into a public event for they also need to convince the Chinese people that a bright future awaits them in the high North this is maybe also part of the uh awareness buing for the Chinese public to have some awareness not only the Arctic but the kind of research or the maritime awareness endowed with this Icebreaker the Chinese discover a new world they have a lot to learn but soon enough this floating laboratory proves insufficient to serve China's as aspirations in the Arctic but how can they go about in the Arctic a region whose residents fiercely guard their sovereignty this archipelago which for many centuries was a whale hunting Haven opens the Arctic up for the Chinese thanks to a forgotten treaty which resurfaces in 1991 [Music] sbad became a Norwegian territory a century ago on the condition that signatory countries were allowed access to engage in commercial or industrial activities when it was ratified in 1925 France was wary of British and American Ambitions Paris thus invited other Ali countries to ratify the treaty China was one of them the People's Republic of China inherited all the treaties of the previous regime and they renounced a lot of them but they didn't renounce that one so that gives the right to access the Arctic in light of this legitimacy China is finally able to build a base in the Arctic the Yellow River station in 2004 the polar institute's first researchers disembark inard and initiate many projects and Cooperative Endeavors this whole science diplomacy way of building up certain knowledge about using science as a way to to build a presence build relationship build networks I think there um the Arctic has been a could be seen as kind of a testing ground for such an [Music] approach meanwhile in the China Sea Beijing starts showing its disturbing True Colors the ones of an Empire developing its Navy power a country quite different from the one invited by France to ratify the spabar treaty in 1925 above all the Middle Kingdom has become the indispensable Factory of the world and Shanghai the planet's largest container [Music] [Music] port [Music] an overwhelming majority of World Trade happens through shipping trade routes most of which are monitored by the US Navy in order to ensure the free circulation of goods China has a hard time accepting this stronghold nowadays the route linking Asia with Europe goes through the South China Sea which is a tense region and the Suz Canal which can potenti get blocked the melting ice caps could offer Beijing Alternatives three possible routes could shorten the journey by up to 20 days the Northwest Passage through Canada is too unknown too complicated because of the ice the central route through the North Pole is in a distant future obviously the shortest but it is unfeasible as yet due to the ice cap in the time being the northern route is the most promising it goes along Russia and passes just off the coast of Kines Asia's closest European [Music] port in kires from 2010 onwards Felix chudi a Norwegian ship owner will be the first to prove to the Chinese that this Northern Road between East and West is viable in 4th of September 2010 the Nordic Barons left with 41,500 tons of iron or concentrate to China and arrived 22 and a half days later and which show that you know the Northern sea rout was open for non-russian vessels with non-russian cargos between non-russian ports so that was sort of a first and and it was quite important because it showed people this is possible after this historic Journey Felix chudy and his associates start to think big they pay little attention to geopolitical considerations this of course opens up for opportunities uh to to really look at the year round transportation of all kinds of caros of course I think it is important to bring forward the fact that we are the closest neighbor to our friends in the states in China and uh Japan we are the their closest European neighbor yeah yeah and then he wrote this book which is to through Siberia the land of the future Felix Judy can now move his project onto the next phase and open a port to receive cargo ships from Asia with this in mind he buys an iron mine in kires our purpose of buying the mine was not really the mine itself which was closed at the time it was really the port infrastructure uh which fitted into our vision what is needed in the Arctic with the emerging of of China as the biggest economy and their ambition to communicate through the Northern sea root Chen is the first Harbor and also the fact that for Europe China is more important than us trade wise and for me as a mayor it's very important that the Norwegian company together with Chinese company or other foreign companies could do something to develop chickness as a logistic hub for the the the traffic along the Northern sea route [Music] the prospect of this new route stirs interest Beyond kires in the middle of the northern Atlantic fford on the Icelandic Coast is well positioned as a destination for this new commercial [Music] route for yonas egleson a local official these Asian cargos can mean salvation if you see the roads around here the infrastructure and everything you know this area of the country has been so to speak left behind we are in our closest point to the you know the northeastern sea rod in addition and we have access uh straight access to Harpers in in in Europe as well so that makes it excellent choice beside you see the land here behind it provides an ample opportunity for Industries or you know the base for the harbor is going to be you know probably the biggest Harbor in Iceland eventually but this remote region is also a strategic location for NATO the Western military Alliance within which Iceland is a loyal American Ally during the Cold War NATO had installed a raidar station to monitor Soviet submarines in the northern Atlantic a strategic Dimension which could also one day be used for China but these dreams of ports which for the time being are merely being studied in offices rais questions only a few dozen ships currently Transit through the northern route every year but what will happen in the future this issue is troubling for this former Icelandic Minister who is now advisor to the Nordic Foreign Affairs ministers it is the the aim of all the nations to solve matters in the Arctic on the basis of the UN law the sea convention the Chinese they have disregarded this convention in the South China Tea and therefore one can speculate if the Chinese become involved in the Arctic will they respect the law of the sea convention in the Arctic or will they behave as they are doing in the South China Sea for the time being the question remains unanswered but it raises more questions for Chinese businessmen now also embark on a quest for Arctic [Music] territories in the early 2010s billionaire hang nubo comes to embody this new upcoming China he is a poet and a mountaineer but he mostly spent 10 years working for the propaganda Department of the Communist party's Central Committee before getting involved in real estate business with great success he sets his sights on two Nordic territories [Music] successively nuo is about to make an entrance in the life of this Norwegian entrepreneur whose story starts the day he shares dinner with China's Ambassador in Oslo during that dinner we talk a lot and he said he have a friend in China he might want to come and see you and that was new I didn't I didn't know nothing about nuu before and he came here and uh he said do you have a property I said I have a many property is here and he said can I see it yes we can but then we need a boat to see it from the F we jump in a boat and we go for a nice trip in the F and he see the property and then he said is it possible to buy yes I said why not after 5 minutes he said how much do you want I said said I don't really know it's a big property it's 1 million square meter depends what you want to do he said he he like to build an Resort five star resort very high class but you have to come to China and see what I'm doing there to understand what I mean I said I will come don't worry Ola and his two Associates went to China and spent 2 weeks there at the expense of this mysterious billionaire who was enamored with the Arctic and had been introduced by an [Music] [Music] ambassador but the agreement is never enacted it draws too many negative reactions in the Norwegian he is subject to insults the Region's largest Daily Newspaper calls him a traitor to his country the Chinese billionaire backs off and the contract is put on standby many people they talk very badly to me and said you know I I want to give the land to Chinese and this is not good I said it's my right to do whatever I want and I think I in the end it will be a nice investment and good for Ling and good for for nor Norway and uh I cannot see the problem the outcry against the Chinese billionaire Norway is replicated in Iceland it's a question of how you look at a superpower a military superpower an authoritarian State a a billionaire coming from that state of course you ask about these connections of course you do the issue was even more controversial in Iceland as he was much greedier the Chinese billionaire tried to get hold of 300 square meters in the north of the island and planed to build a tourist resort with support from these Icelandic entrepreneurs there were um some very strange news that surfaced uh one for example was about um him wanting to import a lot of Chinese up to 3,000 Chinese people to to live in grim and even it surfaced in the Canadian media that it would be some sort of a military base for China it's all the nonsense I mean it is a it's a media hype which fits the kind of model the Chinese are coming the Chinese are coming uh to sort of scare people the interior Minister ended up intervening to stop the project in agreement with the president we must remember this that people were crying for investment hoping for investment and this explains why the municipalities in the north were so eager to have it but I want it to be realistic internationally geopolitically things are happening the world is on the move and of course we have to to to analyze this Andy try to understand it when uh when something like this happens but China bounces back in the Arctic precisely in this small country of 300,000 [Music] people Beijing made a clever move it took advantage of the crisis that had hit Iceland a few years earlier thus ensuring its president would become an unwavering Ally to make sense of this we must recall the subprime crisis That Shook the planet in 2008 it had brought Iceland to its knees Iceland had been abandoned by all and president Grimson found himself on the front line to try to save his country faced with that situation direct hostility from Europe complete uh no no interest from the United States I wrote a letter to the president of China and that evolved through a very fascinating uh diplomatic Manu as I sometimes called it to a currency swap agreement between uh Iceland and China and some other measures which was important for us to remind Brussels and the European powers that Iceland other options and there were no conditions put by the Chinese that certainly put a very positive impression to the Icelandic government including president Grimson who at the time was very interested in opening up Iceland as a Gateway a portal to the Arctic for non-arctic States so the timing was very good for all parties this Alliance is sealed when Iceland becomes the first European country to sign a free trade agreement with China the schellong Icebreaker plays a new and crucial role in this improved [Music] strategy it turns into a floating Embassy in 2012 it makes the trip from Shanghai to ruic on the Icelandic president's invitation who plays the China card perfectly creating a win-win situation at the end of this trip the president himself greets the Wong's entire crew when the Chinese research vessel suong the snow dragon came to Iceland and I agreed to receive the ship it was the first time in European history that Chinese scientist explained in an open platform in the presence of ambassadors of all the European countries why they had this scientific mission to the Arctic this corporation which aimed to reassure the the public opinion by demonstrating China's good intentions thus flourishes in Iceland and a Cornerstone of a new Northern Lights observation station is even laid once built a few years later the station would come to draw suspicions the Icelandic help was invaluable but it is here in Kira in Swedish Lapland that China will make a great leap and become a legitimate Arctic actor in 2013 China is accepted as an observer within the Arctic Council this is an informal Club led by the eight Arctic countries which has become an indispensable forum for scientific environmental and navigational issues China became the accredited observer in the year 2013 and uh we actually we got support by quite a number of countries in including Iceland which we quite appreciate China has grown to the point where we simply can't close it out of the Arctic and that if China is uh denied some kind of role in the Arctic Council it will simply treat that as a roadblock to be rooted around yet beijing's candidacy was not easily granted for the Arctic countries are sensitive on the issue of their sovereignty in this part of the world this makes sense given that amongst its members it counts Russia a strong influence in the region as well as the United States always on their guard at that time I noticed there are some suspicion about what does China want in the Arctic and also the Chinese are Comming this kind of China threat mentality why should we uh admit them when they uh are are behaving badly in other parts of the world uh please to be joined at the table by our senior Arctic official Julie Gurley for 15 years Julie go was the United States diplomatic representative at the Arctic Council meetings and she had come to terms with the idea of welcoming China it's better to have China Under the Tent with all of us than not one of the big fears was that if China were not were denied Observer status they would um maybe seek revenge in some ways like cause trouble for us in other forums like the UN that year six countries are accepted as observers most of which are Asian we have agreed and perhaps in particular on the The Observer issue where we welcome China India Italy Japan Republic of Korea and Singapore as new Observer States they accept the principles and the uh because I have the sovereignity of the Arctic Council on Arctic issues China as a permanent member of the UN Security Council we do have our obligations and responsibilities to contribute our wisdom our resources and know how this symbolic Victory happens at the exact same time shiin ping becomes the new president of China this changes the world [Music] stage with his climate speeches and his planetary vision of the new Silk Roads xianping gives a new direction to this gestating China Arctic project taking it further than any of his [Music] predecessors now there is more of a vision of China actually wanted to play a role in the International System of taking up its great power position political level interest in the Arctic is has really gone way way up since president she uh took power [Music] after the subprime crisis a new crisis unexpectedly plays the Arctic into beijing's hands Russia's annexation of Crimea in early [Music] 2014 the International Community turns against Moscow sanctions are imposed the main goal is to isolate [Applause] [Music] Russia in this new post-sanction World Vladimir Putin welcomes Xian ping with honor the relationship between the two countries has been gradually warming up since Ma's death it speeds up as both Beijing and Moscow come under Western [Music] criticism the reluctance that one might expect between two superpowers rapidly dissolves in the face of common [Music] interests Russia needs money and Technology while China needs natural resources in order to sustain its growth they talk [Music] business yamal in the Russian Arctic changes everything China is given a golden opportunity to gain a firm and Lasting foothold in the high [Music] North yamal is one of the largest liquid gas sites in the world and it is crucial for [Music] Russia Beijing thus becomes jal's savior on moscow's [Music] demand it was tremendously hyped in Russia at the time and they were effectively saying we don't care about you Europeans we got the Chinese we don't hear that much about that any longer I think the Russians are aware of the fact that even if they look very big on the map and they are very big um their economy is smaller than a province of China uh so they are slightly cautious of where this development is going to end up long term Isam all [Music] together all the [Music] in this forgotten corner of the Arctic the Chinese can finally demonstrate the extent of their polar [Music] commitment for those who might have been wondering about their aspirations yamal provides an [Music] answer the Chinese companies take over 30% of the project and are able to experience the high North on a large scale Russia should have rejoiced for yal but its identity as a superpower took a serious blow the Russians generally are very are not very happy about you know being seen as as a simply the ones who who who develop who who delivers resources to to support China's development as into being a really great power that can chall challenge the US rights when the American Anthem sounds in Beijing in late 2017 China shows the place it aims to take up in this Great Arctic family xiin ping welcomes Donald Trump with great Pomp and ceremony the yal site may be large yet it is but half the size of what is brewing in the American [Music] Arctic China signs a $43 billion Mega contract for a liquid gas project in Alaska the United States only Arctic state in 2017 its Governor Bill Walker had gone to plead the case to Donald [Music] Trump he asked what could he do and I said we need some help with the market and about 2 weeks later I got a a notification in my office that President shei wanted to meet with [Music] me we want sheap uh uh clean energy and and so does China and so we can offer you know potentially 100 Years of supply of of of you know of natural gas um that is just stranded at this point our market for is is Asia because we're just much closer to Asia uh and and what we have they need China expands its power with confidence beijing's new boundless ambition take the form of a Monumental and plan planetary project of new Silk Roads linking China with the rest of the world through land and sea routes in the name of a declared ideal of mutual benefits in a mere few years China changed the game it all went way too fast China's power draws concern all the more so given its culture of secrecy 25 years after having bought a used Icebreaker from Ukraine Beijing now has the capacity to build build its own ice breaker the Shong 2 a strong message given their wish to be taken seriously in the Arctic plans for the construction of a nuclear Icebreaker are even in the works which would be an even more important Turning [Music] Point some Chinese researchers realize that this deployment of power could be counterproductive sunai a Chinese specialist in Arctic geopolitics is aware of this and alerts the Chinese [Music] authorities around 205 or 2016 at that time I write several papers advising that China should publish uh paper on Arctic issues or China's Arctic intention policy because most of the suspicions at the early stages when China is applying St Observer status uh is one of the reason they are seeing is China do not have a paper uh or China's Arctic China's intentions in the Arctic are not clear today the Spate Council information office releases the white paper China's Arctic Arctic policy you mean in an obvious attempt to appease Beijing takes a step thank you a white book on its Arctic policy is presented to the international press in January 2018 Beyond climate issues it mainly mentions its polar Silk Road Project and asserts its wish to exploit Arctic resources the arctic white paper is actually a sign of more self-confident somewhat more ambitious and more risk-taking Chinese uh Arctic approach or Chinese Arctic diplomacy the most important thing about that document is what's not in there it doesn't talk about China's military strategic interests in the Arctic some of those ports well those ports could be used for dual use activity civil and Military and so could facilitate uh for example being a um a port base for a submarine in the heart of the northern Atlantic NATO's preserve the Arctic map would have to be Revisited imagine submarine bases behind fiord in Iceland where the call for investors is about to begin or in lingan in Norway with billionaire nubo and his tourist Resort in a f but it is here in lysil on the Swedish West Coast that tensions are going to [Music] escalate this small town which has been weakened by a company's departure Witnesses the return of Chinese businessmen on a quest for large land transactions Tommy Nicholson a consultant remembers the day when a group of Chinese people came into his life he was a small Chinese guy he could invest for 50 million euro and he had his daughter with him and then an assistant I picked them up here at CA Tower in gor and brought them up up to lill where I have planned meetings with the community at that time it was purely investment in Lui in the existing Port quite small investment the Chinese thought it was too small for them but at the same time we show them the pr ra outside luer Shi when they saw that place that surface around the and they wow will it be possible for us to look into to make a pre- study if it's possible to to create some like like a deep Port here for for for container traffic I heard some rumors from friends or or locals [Music] here this former Navy officer reckons that Sweden is being naive with regards to this port project I found it very uh surprising with it plans but anyways I started to check things and and dig a little bit in my sources I got to know who were behind this so we located two big Chinese companies both with links to the Communist Party Magnus saided AOL who suspects that this project could serve Chinese military interests publishes an opinion piece which is taken up by many newspapers it's Echo is immediate and widespread and it baffles the Chinese [Music] [Music] Embassy we have no interests foreign investments that we not can also control in the long run we have also seen for example in Greece where there is China's ownership of a harbor that that also have been used to make an impact on G Greece policy development so we um we do not want that sort of situation in our country this mistrust extends to the scientific projects that had open the Arctic up to the [Music] Chinese the Icelandic man who had once been the unfortunate intermediary for a Chinese billionaire knows this well he is involved in the construction of the Icelandic Chinese Observatory whose first bricks had been laid a few years back this Center is now drawing attention because of the laser that the Chinese want to fit inside suspicions arise that it might be used for more than mere observation of the night [Music] sky this room is the lighter room we will be opening the ceiling or the roof and then the laser beam will be sent up uh all the way up to as far as 50 km up into the sky China has uh a research station in spard it has a brand new one in Iceland and of course it uses its uh Icebreaker the long as a scientific research platform in the Arctic there's certainly um uh lots of concern that those those uh research stations are dual use um for for military and and uh other purposes intelligence gathering purposes at the Arctic Council in May 2019 in Finland this buildup of suspicions leads the traditional consensus that had previously prevailed in the subdued Forum to fall apart despite his engaging smile Mike pompo Donald Trump's Secretary of State catches everyone unawares it was as if the Americans had suddenly woken up and realized that beside Africa the Arctic was also one of China's targets and its race to become a world [Applause] superpower Beijing claims to be a near Arctic state yet the shortest distance between China and the Arctic is 900 miles there are only Arctic States and non-arctic States no third category exists and claiming otherwise entitles China to exactly not nothing it it was a very very aggressive um speech that had never been given before in an Arctic Council setting there there had never been anything like that our Pentagon warned just last week that China could use its civilian research presence in the Arctic to strengthen its military presence including our deployment of submarines including deployment of submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attack for China from a nuclear security point of view uh the Arctic is China's vulnerable back door the Arctic Ocean is important for China if China could get a um nuclear missile um submarine under an arctic ice that would provide a second strike deterence for [Music] China [Music] for besides the Chinese have weapons that are perhaps much more efficient their financial power their response to Mike pompo's speech is simple they Retreat from the giant Alaska LNG project with its $43 billion promise Alaska returns to a standstill the biggest question about the future of the Arctic in the next 30 Years is not what China would do and what Russia would do because we know they will continue to cooperate in energy and resources and and shipping the big question is what will the United States do will they continue to be largely passive the Chinese Arctic future will probably hinge on this question of commitment where are the actions beyond [Music] words Greenland alone summarizes this stake China is now interested in Greenland with an eye on its enormous rare earth metals and other mineral reserves Greenland is a symbol for China's Ambitions an immense autonomous territory under the Danish flag it is half the size of the European Union its population counts barely 56,000 inhabitants most of whom are Inuit and it dreams of emancipation but at what [Music] price it could certainly be a game changer if if if China were able to um to have a lot of presence in the Arctic and establish uh the ability to to engage in lots of Economic Development activity um it would be felt uh it would be felt around the world close to nask in the South the quanas mining project Bears The Mark of this shift it is rich in uranium and rare earth metals over which China already practically has a global Monopoly these rare earth metals are vital for environmental transition Technologies while the aim was to break up China's Monopoly by exploiting these rare earth metals here in Greenland a Chinese State company took charge of this project which may take decades to come to fruition no matter Beijing takes its time in the Arctic time that the other countries did not take but do these other countries even have an Arctic strategy if you talk about countries investing in projects in Greenland you see the Chinese interest rest no us Investments no European Investments there's only one way of preventing Chinese monies in Greenland that's if you invest yourself but until today we haven't seen any us Investments or european Investments at the foot of the quanas mountain on the edge of the nark F A young Ino she is opposed to the mind that will pollute his pastures he lives alone with his sheep sometimes they get lost in the mountain and he likes to get lost with them he didn't go searching for anyone on the other side of the world he would simply like to believe that his future is in his own [Music] hands [Music]

Channel: Best Documentary

Views: 89,765

Keywords: documentary, full, movie, english, hd, reporting, full reporting, investigation, economy, population, asian, interview, 4K, boat, exploration, expedition, country, travel, adventure, ice, artic, sea, ocean, politic, government, russian, Poutine, alliance, landscape

Id: _vye_1Aq2m4

Length: 52min 31sec (3151 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 03 2024