The dragon spits fire on ice: the Arctic and Antarctica within China's New Silk Road

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to increase knowledge about the importance of North and South Poles within China’s New Silk Road. The central argument is that there are several logistic and economic issues which explain Beijing’s interests in these two regions, less studied in comparison to other areas where China’s New Silk Road is more active. The qualitative method, through the hermeneutic analysis, is the methodology supporting this investigation. In the end, we address several geostrategic recommendations to the Chinese Government, in order to better exploit the opportunities and benefits of a polar New Silk Road. We argue here that the Chinese maritime New Silk Road does not, and should not, have necessarily to be confined to the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific Oceans. No matter how important these may be, China can and must continue to try to build a polar New Silk Road, also serving as a steersman to other powers that also look for various opportunities in the melting of the ice. However, in any case, the crossing of the Arctic must fully replace the conventional sea routes, which, along with the polar routes, must be understood, by now, and at most, in a perspective of complementarity.