A Chinese shipping firm is planning the country’s first
commercial voyage through the Northern Sea Route this summer. For China, the world’s No 2 economy after
the United States, the route would save time and money. The distance from
Shanghai to Hamburg is 5,200 kilometers shorter via the Arctic than via the
Suez Canal, Yang said.
China has been lobbying for permanent observer status on the
eight-member Arctic Council in a bid to gain influence. Norway will work towards admitting China
observer status in the Arctic Council “We want people to join our club. That
means they will not start another club”. Barth Eide is backed up by Minster
Bildt; “The Arctic Council should be the arena for Arctic issues”.
According to Chinese longer-term scenarios, 5 to 15 per cent
of China’s international trade, mostly container traffic, would use the route
by 2020. Ten per cent of China’s projected trade by 2020, for instance, would
be worth €526 billion. “If the route is constructively prepared ... then the
demand is there, it could be a huge number,”
in 2012 46 vessels sailed the Northern Sea Route, compared to 34
in 2011 and only four in 2010. The total cargo transported on the NSR in
2012 was 1 261 545 tons – a 53 percent increase from 2011, when 820 789 tons
was shipped on the route.
China and Iceland signed a free-trade agreement on April
15th, China’s first with any European nation. The more likely attraction for China is
access to improving shipping routes through the Arctic as that region warms due
to climate change.
No comments:
Post a Comment