Extract from ABC News
There has been increased interest in the Arctic in recent decades, including from China. (Getty: Liu Shiping/Xinhua)
Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed the United States needs to take control of Greenland to protect the region from security threats from China and Russia.
"World peace is at stake! China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it," the US president wrote in a social media post earlier this year.
China has made no secret of its ambitions to invest and gain economic and governance influence in the Arctic region.
But the reality of Chinese advancements on the ground is quite different.
So how founded are Mr Trump's claims about a China "security threat"?
China's ambitions for the Arctic
Nearly a decade ago, China unveiled an ambitious blueprint to get a major foothold in the economic, security and governance future of the Arctic region.
The 2018 policy paper spectacularly claimed China was a "Near-Arctic State" and, as such, needed to be a key stakeholder in the area.
Beijing's big plan was to establish a "Polar Silk Road" — developing Arctic shipping routes and pumping investments into transport infrastructure.
It also sought to become an economic and governance partner in everything, from mineral exploration and mining, through to research and environmental protection.
The policy paper clearly outlined that Beijing had big plans to cement itself in the region, based on a Chinese investment model that has been replicated in many regions across the world.
The Polar Silk Road
When China unveiled its vision for engagement in the Arctic, the cornerstone cooperation project was to build a Polar Silk Road that would give Beijing freedom of movement and operation through increased shipping routes.
"[China] encourages its enterprises to participate in the infrastructure construction for these routes and conduct commercial trial voyages in accordance with the law to pave the way for their commercial and regularised operation," the policy paper said.
Advancements on this plan had been limited until last October, when a Chinese vessel travelled from a port in eastern China to Suffolk in England, through the Arctic region.
It was the first time a Chinese-based ship had travelled to Europe through the Northern Sea Route that runs alongside Russia's Arctic coastline.
According to Chinese state media, the shortcut took about 20 days to complete — about half the time of a more traditional voyage through the Suez Canal.
That one trip alone took three years to plan and accommodate, according to state media. But China has said it is preparing for similar voyages in 2026.
Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed that a large number of Chinese and Russian ships are operating near Greenland.
Greenland and Denmark have said the island is not for sale. (Reuters: Guglielmo Mangiapane)
"Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place," he told a press gaggle in early January.
But according to analysts, authorities, and publicly available data, there is no evidence to support that claim currently, because it's winter and the area is frozen solid.
Shipping information from around the region shows no Chinese or Russian vessels in the waters near Greenland, and Greenlandic officials have also refuted Mr Trump's claims.
China's presence in the Arctic thwarted
Over recent decades, China has made repeated attempts to build up its presence in the Arctic region, but without much success.
In Greenland alone, multiple major Chinese investment bids in infrastructure projects have been blocked by Denmark for so-called "security reasons".
Donald Trump has cited China and Russia's Arctic presence among his reasons for his interest in Greenland. (Reuters: Sarah Meyssonnier)
In 2018, a Chinese state-owned company tried to invest in upgrading and expanding a network of Greenlandic airports, but the business bid was stopped, reportedly with US influence.
Another attempt by China to acquire a decommissioned Danish naval base in Greenland was also quashed, reportedly to stop Beijing gaining a military foothold in the area.
It was a similar story when China tried to buy a satellite ground station and offered other financial incentives to build infrastructure.
China has managed to build and operate several space bases across the Arctic, but overall, analysts in the region conclude that the level of investment by China is still very low.
Meanwhile, China has said it wants to "participate" in minerals exploration in Greenland.
Greenland is home to massive reserves of rare earth elements and minerals, and is generally ranked about eighth globally for rare earth reserves.
China has the world's largest reserves and currently dominates the industry, holding a 70 per cent global market share, according to Chinese state media.
Rare earth elements are used in everything from electric vehicles to fighter jets and lasers, and China's economic dominance of the industry is something the US wants to disrupt.
China is a key shareholder in an Australian company that was given a rare exploration licence for one of Greenland's few mines — although the project is now stalled.
So China hasn't been able to make significant inroads into acquiring any of Greenland's natural reserves.
Even so, Mr Trump has made no secret of his ambition to keep the Greenlandic minerals out of China's control.
Access to minerals emerged as a key component of the president's Greenland deal reached this week — which some analysts say reveals Mr Trump's true ambitions in his acquisition quest.
Is China a 'security threat' to Greenland?
A wide range of analysts and political figures in the region have debunked many of Mr Trump's claims about China's presence in and around Greenland.
And Beijing has hit back against Washington's repeated security claims, saying the "so-called China-threat is baseless".
NATO's secretary-general Mark Rutte said the alliance would take steps to ensure "the Chinese and the Russians will not gain access" to Greenland's military or economic infrastructure.
And while there is no doubt China would like to establish more governance, infrastructure, and economic ties with the Arctic region, it appears any actual progress by China on these goals, has been limited.
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