China and the Arctic: Polar bearings | The Economist

China and the Arctic: Polar bearings | The Economist Certainly China is interested in the Arctic. On July 11th its icebreaker, Xue Long (“Snow Dragon”), embarks on the country’s sixth Arctic expedition, with 65 scientists on board. A new 1.3 billion yuan ($210m) icebreaker will soon be launched, and last December a China-Nordic research centre was opened in Shanghai. In this section The flow of things Polar bearings Big Blue smoke Reprints Related topics Norway China New freight opportunities interest China along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as ice recedes. In 2010 four ships took the route. Last summer 71 vessels did so. Each ship that takes the route must, at certain points, be accompanied by an ice-breaker, so it is unclear how soon the NSR will be suitable for mass transit, if at all.http://www.economist.com/news/china/21606898-china-pursues-its-interest-frozen-north-polar-bearings?utm_source=The+Sinocism+China+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c0b1123fe1-Sinocism07_18_14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_171f237867-c0b1123fe1-29615013&mc_cid=c0b1123fe1&mc_eid=5935182a65