NATO state and member of the Arctic Council, Norway has raised alarm over the steadily rising Chinese presence in the High North, quipping that China’s influence in the region is currently “limited but growing,” as it works more closely with ally Russia, as highlighted by a latest Newsweek report.
It cited the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) annual threat assessment report published in February 2025, which particularly highlights China’s threat and the growing collaboration between China and Russia in the Arctic.
In fact, NIS reports have consistently named these two countries as threats during the last few years. However, the dangers have now become more pronounced.
The 2025 threat assessment states: “China has ambitions to strengthen its presence, capabilities and influence in the Arctic in the coming years. China is facilitating this by strengthening cooperation with Russia on research and commercial activities, as well as by increasing China’s national icebreaker capacity.”
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The Norwegian Intelligence states that China’s investments in Russian liquefied natural gas projects are its “largest and most prominent” Arctic-related activity. However, it also warns that Russia might entice South Africa, India, and Brazil to join its Arctic energy initiatives.
For instance, reports indicate that Russia’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is scouring international markets to find buyers for gas from its sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project. It has reportedly set its sights on India, a strategic partner.
The threat assessment report also states that China is focusing on building larger icebreakers and icebreakers with nuclear propulsion, which will improve its capability to map the Arctic for both military and civilian uses. This may not come as a surprise given that last year, China made an unprecedented move by deploying three icebreakers to the Arctic, including its most advanced vessel, Xue Long 2.
For China, the Arctic holds strategic, economic, and environmental significance. Experts warn that the increase in Chinese activity in the region is based on exercising rights related to scientific research, freedom of navigation and overflight, fishery activities, cable and pipeline laying, and resource exploitation in the region. However, they go beyond and often have dual purposes.
In 2023, for instance, China placed acoustic listening buoys in the North Sea and ramped up its research activities in Ny-Ålesund [a small town in Oscar II Land in the west of the island of Spitsbergen].
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