An act recently introduced in Congress sets the tone for the Biden administration as it unilaterally attempts to cement the role of the United States as arbiter of security matters in the Arctic region. But China must safeguard its own interests.

President Trump’s interest in Greenland is sensible considering the strategic and economic importance of the Arctic — a region that also interests China, Russia, and other great powers, but the United States could be doing more to strengthen its ties to Denmark and its territory.

America’s top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, recently attacked China’s Arctic activities. But this criticism lacks coherence and a basis in international law — China’s proposed “Polar Silk Road,” among other projects including infrastructure and scientific research, are lawful and mutually beneficial.

China is looking to develop its polar strategies and increase its participation in global polar governance initiatives. This proactive stance will almost certainly clash with an American agenda, regardless of the administration.

As global warming increases, China is increasingly looking to the Arctic. Other countries have reason to be wary.

While much attention has focused on Chinese efforts to make economic in-roads on land, observers may have missed the country’s expansion to the north, along the Polar Silk Road.

For China the Arctic represents a largely blank geoeconomic canvas outside of the United States’ sphere of influence in which it can lay the foundation today for significant economic and geopolitical rewards in the future.

The release of China’s Arctic White Paper in late January brought broad attention to China’s somewhat nascent but rapidly expanding role and interests in the Arctic region. Even though most of the information in the White Paper is not new, initiatives such as the Polar Silk Road could indicate a coming surge in China’s political and economic endeavors in the Arctic.

China’s involvement in Arctic affairs can bring the region new impetus and new opportunities for development.

Greenland believes its ticket to prosperity is the wealth of minerals and rare earths below its slopes. Jonas Parello-Plesner discusses the potential for China’s investment to turn Greenland into a successful resource economy.