Arctic geoeconomy and new trade routes: Sino-Russian logistics projects and strategic investments in the region

Abstract

The Arctic Sea melt tends to worsen throughout the 21st century. If, on the one hand, it is seen as an environmental catastrophe, on the other hand, it is also seen as an economic advantage by its neighbors. As the melting takes place, the more accessible the Arctic becomes, making it viable to explore natural resources and to build and consolidate a trade route capable of surpassing the current trade routes connecting Asia and Europe, in terms of time and savings. Thus, this work focuses on answering the following question: how does the Arctic melting impact the geoeconomy of international trade? Using the perspective of geoeconomic theory, introduced and developed by Edward Nicolae Luttwak, Robert Blackwill and Jennifer Harris, this paper aims to conceptualize global warming, compare current routes with the advantageous North Sea route from data collection and to critically analyze sino-russian cooperation in consolidating their ongoing commercial maritime projects in the Arctic region.