Promises of hope or threats of domination: Chinese mining in Greenland

Abstract

Chinese investment plans in Greenland have been viewed by various Greenlandic governments with high hopes while their Danish counterparts have been much more reluctant and fearful of what some sort of orchestrated Chinese intervention would mean for the autonomous and supposedly less experienced part of the Danish Kingdom. Despite expectations, actual Chinese actions have not materialized in any of the ways that Greenland and Denmark have hoped or feared which could suggest that China’s interest in Greenland was not as once thought. This article discusses the strategic implications of mining in Greenland, questioning the assumed coherence of Chinese interests and also examining both Greenland’s and Denmark’s role in staging strategic narratives. The article argues that while it is possible to identify Chinese state actors that believe Greenland should be highly prioritized, their approach so far has been very fragmented. In fact, the idea of a co-ordinated Chinese approach appears to have mainly been created in the contestation between Greenlandic hopes and Danish fears.