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

The Arctic Sea melt tends to worsen throughout the 21

stcentury. 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.

Revista da Escola de Guerra Naval