The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday elbowed its way into the debate over President Donald Trump’s effort to acquire Greenland, slamming the U.S. for “using other countries as an excuse for pursuing its own selfish interests.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning was responding to a reporter who quoted Trump saying that if America does not acquire Greenland, “Russia or China will.”
“The Arctic bears on the common interests of the international community. China’s activities in the Arctic are aimed at promoting the peace, stability, and sustainable development of the region. They are in line with international law,” Mao responded.
“Countries’ right and freedom to carry out activities in the Arctic in accordance with the law needs to be fully respected. The U.S. should not use other countries as a pretext for seeking selfish gains,” she said.
The same reporter, working for Turkey’s Andalou Agency, later asked Mao what China’s response would be if the U.S. took control of Greenland, and whether Beijing felt it had any “interests” it would need to defend.
“China always believes that state-to-state relations should be handled in accordance with the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter,” Mao replied disingenuously.
China has, in fact, ignored international tribunal rulings to press its expansive territorial claims in the South China sea using reckless levels of force, and the world is perpetually on standby for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
“Regarding the Arctic, let me say that countries’ right and freedom to carry out activities in the Arctic in accordance with the law needs to be fully respected,” she added.
Contrary to Mao’s elusive responses, China has been very aggressive in the Arctic since 2018 when it launched an expansion of its Belt and Road Initiative dubbed the “Polar Silk Road.” Beijing put a great deal of effort into developing an Arctic presence over the ensuing seven years, including investments in Greenland’s rare earth mines.
One reason for President Trump’s concern over Greenland is that its current relationship with Denmark gives Copenhagen veto power over foreign investments, but if Greenland makes good on its long-standing desire to achieve full independence, there would be fewer impediments to China moving in.
A state-owned enterprise called the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) submitted bids to upgrade two airports in the Greenland cities of Nuuk and Ilulissat in 2018. The bids were withdrawn in 2019 under pressure from the United States and Denmark.
Another Chinese state-linked firm, Shenghe Resources, purchased a stake in a rare-earth and uranium mining project in southern Greenland in 2016. The project fell apart after Greenland’s semi-autonomous government banned uranium mining in 2021.
“China would push back hard against any U.S. move to take control of Greenland, given Beijing’s commercial interests on the island — from resource exploration to the security of Arctic shipping routes,” Xinbo Wu of Shanghai’s Fudan University told CNBC last week.
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