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China Arctic/Antarctic Science, Technology and Industry: News & Discussions

"We have a clear vision. The Arctic should remain a safe, predictable and peaceful region, a region of international cooperation based on international law, a region where development is sustainable and where there is a good balance between commercial and industrial activity and environmental concerns," she added.

China is a near Arctic state and has direct interests in the Arctic's viability, security and environment. It is a direct stakeholder as the world's largest trading nation with the largest merchant fleet and highest consumer of energy.

Cooperation with Nordic states and Russia is vital. I think China is doing well so far.
 
China's first Antarctic airfield may see building begin by 2018
(China Daily) 08:20, April 12, 2017

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Scientists who returned to Shanghai aboard the Xuelong icebreaker on Tuesday are reunited with their families after completing the nation's 33rd Antarctic expedition, which included surveying an airfield site. [Photo/Xinhua]

Progress continues on China's first airfield in Antarctica, with site selection and a survey completed and plans set for construction to begin as early as year's end, according to a senior scientist.

The airfield, near China's Zhongshan Station, will be able to handle fixed-wing aircraft. Specialists from the nation's 33rd Antarctic expedition recently surveyed a 3-square-kilometer area selected for the airfield, said Sun Bo, deputy director of the Polar Research Institute of China under the State Oceanic Administration.

Sun spoke at a news conference after the welcoming ceremony in Shanghai for the 33rd Antarctic expedition, which ended a 161-day mission and returned to its base in Shanghai on Tuesday morning.

The 328-member expedition conducted a great amount of scientific research and experiments at and around the country's four Antarctic stations-Changcheng, Zhongshan, Taishan and Kunlun-according to the institute. It added that the Xuelong icebreaker and Haiyang 6 scientific survey ship, the two vessels carrying the expedition team, also conducted oceanographic and geological research.

Sun said the construction of the planned airfield will be carried out by the 34th Antarctic expedition, which is set to arrive in Antarctica around the end of this year, adding that the infrastructure project will go through an international environmental protection review.

"At first the airfield will have only one runway, so the construction will be easy-we will only need to flatten the selected area and maintain it. Fixed-wing aircraft will need to be equipped with a pair of runners so they can land," he told China Daily.

"Next, we plan to build some runways in the same area. They will be flatter than the first runway and will be capable of accommodating large fixed-wing planes that are not equipped with runners," Sun said.

The airfield will greatly facilitate the nation's Antarctic explorations, Sun said.

There are about 40 airstrips in service in Antarctica with the United States, Australia and Italy being the major operators.

During the 33rd expedition, Chinese scientists used the Xueying 601, the only fixed-wing aircraft used by China for Antarctic research, to perform airborne remote sensing and telemetry operations, which means China is now able to conduct aerial surveys in Antarctica, Sun said.

In another development, Lin Shanqing, deputy head of State Oceanic Administration, said at the news conference that the 33rd expedition completed a survey of possible sites of China's fifth Antarctic station near the Ross Sea, a bay in Antarctica. He said experts inspected and examined five locations before deciding.

Preparation for the new station has been completed and construction will start as soon as 2018, Lin said.

The Ross Sea is believed to be the least altered marine ecosystem on Earth, making it a living laboratory that may provide insights about Antarctica's history.


********

Can fly there directly can bypass the ship.
 
China draws digital 3D topographic map of Antarctic seabed
Source: Xinhua| 2017-04-15 15:10:37|Editor: Tian Shaohui

GUANGZHOU, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have created a three-dimensional, digital topographic map of the Antarctic seabed using data collected during a recent expedition.

The map was presented at a press briefing held Friday in the city of Guangzhou during an event to mark the completion of a four-month expedition by the research vessel "Hai Yang Liu Hao" (Ocean Six).

The map was made on the expedition in Antarctica using multi-beam sonar. The vessel emitted multiple pulses of sound that scanned an area measuring 250 kilometers long, 80 kilometers wide, with a maximum depth of 3,500 meters, said He Gaowen, a senior scientist with Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey Bureau.

With 80 gigabytes of data, the researchers were able to compile a high-definition map that can be used in Antarctic research or for navigation.

Compared to a traditional single-beam sonar, multi-beam sonar can quickly collect information about topographic and geological components, and water composition. This information can be used to support research into the evolution of the Antarctic seabed, said Liu Shengxuan, another senior scientist involved in the expedition.

China has used this same technique to map the country's coastal areas, the South China Sea, the Pacific, and the Indian Ocean. The maps have proved invaluable tools across geological surveys and marine mineral exploitation, said Ding Weifeng, an Earth exploration scientist at a research institute under State Oceanic Administration.

The mapping of the Antarctic seabed will also provide a large amount of information for polar scientific research, Ding said.
 
Chinese explorer's incredible arctic journey
Updated: 2017-04-13

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reezing minus 55 C winds whip the rolling sea into frothy peaks. Snow crackles and crunches underfoot, as brilliant white plains blend with the sky above. This is the Arctic Circle, and Zhanjiang-born Wu Yu has just become the first person to ever drive here from China, some 8,000 kilometers away.

Sitting on the hood of his icicle-encrusted Toyota Landcruiser, staring out across the Arctic Ocean, Wu realizes a dream he had since a child to combine his two passions in life – cars and exploration.

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love using wheels to measure the world and explore," says Wu from within his extreme weather polar jacket.​

The founder of a driving club in Beijing, Wu, 33, has driven through 20 countries, totaling 150,000 kilometers, the equivalent of driving around the earth's equator almost four times.

Like the famous Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who was the first to reach the South Pole back on Dec 14, 1911, Yu has lived his life establishing his own firsts. He was the first Chinese to drive to Russia's wild and unknown Kamchatka region, and the first driver of a Chinese license-plated car to drive to Russia's Oymyakon, one of the coldest permanently inhabited locations on Earth, twice.

For this adventure Wu's mission was clear. Set out from Leizhou Peninsula in Zhanjiang on the shores of the South China Sea and drive north through China, Mongolia, and Russia until hitting the Arctic Ocean in the polar far north.

Setting out from China's very southern tip on Jan 20, preparations for the month-long journey north were extensive.

"We spent weeks and weeks preparing and planning, making sure we had enough food, water, gas, and spares," Wu says. "We also spent a lot of time studying the journey and preparing for any problems along the road."

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Crossing South China's mountainous lush-green landscape proved easy on the first leg, thanks to China's extensive investment in the road network in that part of the world, but Wu knew that it would get more difficult the further north he went.

"Generally, most roads in China are fine, the main expressways long and straight," Wu says. "However in Mongolia and Russia the roads can be unpredictable."

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eaching the first milestone of the epic journey, Wu arrived in Beijing on Jan 24, after covering more than 2,500 kilometers in his first five days on the road.​

While in the nation's capital, Wu met with Russia's ambassador to China, Andrey Denisov, who certified him as an envoy of cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Denisov said that it has been 68 years since China and Russia first established diplomatic relations and hoped for a great many more to come.

Hitting the road again, Wu headed northwest to the Chinese-Mongolian border, leaving the city behind in exchange for a more rugged landscape to whizz past the windows.

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oon the bumps of China's northeast flattened out to become Mongolia's vast, unending green plains. Then trouble struck. What was thought to have been a formality, turned into a headache at Mongolia's Zamen Ude border-crossing.​

"Officials at the border provided us with the wrong entry documents," Wu says. "So a few hours later we were stopped by the police and detained until the correct documents could be issued."

Putting the hiccup behind him, Wu arrived in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator on Jan 31.

Crossing from Mongolia's forever-flat plains can be tiresome recalls Wu, the dead-straight roads stretching onwards to the horizon.

"To keep our spirits up and often time to keep us awake, we listen to local radio stations, and sometimes if the music isn't to our taste, we brought along plenty of Chinese music as well."

The days and miles ticked by, as the temperature began to fall the further north they travelled, finally reaching the Russian border. This time, all documents checked out, and Wu sailed into a land of ice and snow.

This is where the journey became difficult. Lake Baikal – the world largest, oldest and deepest freshwater lake dominates the landscape in southern Siberia.

Formed from a rift in an ancient valley, the immense body contains 20 percent of the world's unfrozen fresh water and sinks as deep as 1,642 m.

Choosing to avoid the lake, Wu instead decided to stick the road and cross the mountain ranges in Ulan Ude.

This proved impossible. Three meters of heavy snow had made the roads impassable, even for Wu's heavily modified vehicle equipped with four-wheel-drive and snow tires. On Feb 4, Wu was forced to turn back.

"There was no way to get through," Wu says. "So we had to return to the city and enquire about another way."

After speaking to local officials and guides in the city of Ulan Ude, there turned out to be one other way north that wouldn't lose them so much time as waiting for the snow to clear -- the lake.

For almost five months a year much of Lake Baikal's surface is frozen with many parts navigable by car. With the help of a local guide, Wu was escorted across the frozen blue lake.

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he majestic scenery in a world of white whirled by and as the mercury got lower and lower, so did the kilometers until Wu crossed into the Arctic Circle and made it to the Arctic Ocean.​

Finally on Feb 21, struggling for traction in the thick snow, Wu made it to Yuryung –Khaya, the northernmost village on the edge of the Arctic Ocean – the temperature outside: minus 55 C.

Mission accomplished. After 33 days, 8,000 kilometers and endless hours driving Wu Yu had become the first person to drive from the South China Sea to the Arctic Ocean.

The villagers expressed their great surprise at seeing Wu's white and red Toyota Landcruiser roll into town, where the main mode of transport is dog sleds.

With the help of a local English teacher, Wu sat down with Mayor Kanat Uskenbaevich over a plate of dried raw fish, a staple food of the village, who asked about customs and life in China and what was next for the explorer.

"In the next few years, I think I will be making quite a few more trips like this one," Wu says. "And of course, I will be looking at further and even more challenging journeys."

After the meeting, Wu headed to coast where he poured a small bottle of water he had carried 8,000 kilometers from the South China Sea, into the Arctic Ocean. He then refilled the bottle with Arctic seawater.

"To me it felt like a friendly swap," Wu says. "A symbol of healthy exchanges, communication, integration, and harmony between China and Russia."

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Antarctica a hotspot for Chinese tourists
China Plus, May 3, 2017

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Chinese tourists take pictures of seals in Antarctica in January, 2017. (Photo/China Daily)


New stats are suggesting the number of Chinese tourists travelling to the Antarctica has risen forty-fold over the past decade.

Figures from the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) show some 4,100 Chinese people travelled to the southernmost continent in the 2015-2016 season.

Ten years ago, the number was only 99.

According to the Singapore-based zaobao.com, with the increase of disposable incomes as well as the relatively reasonable tour packages put forward by travel agencies, over 5,000 Chinese people are expected to travel to the Antarctica in 2017.

And China is set to surpass Australia and become the second largest tourist source for Antarctica, following just the US.

Currently, Antarctica tour packages in China cost between 70,000 and 160,000 yuan.

Activities include a close look at local animals such as penguins, seals and whales, as well as camping and hiking.

Most visitors land at the Antarctic Peninsula on vessels departing from southern Argentina.
 
Antarctica a hotspot for Chinese tourists
China Plus, May 3, 2017

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Chinese tourists take pictures of seals in Antarctica in January, 2017. (Photo/China Daily)


New stats are suggesting the number of Chinese tourists travelling to the Antarctica has risen forty-fold over the past decade.

Figures from the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) show some 4,100 Chinese people travelled to the southernmost continent in the 2015-2016 season.

Ten years ago, the number was only 99.

According to the Singapore-based zaobao.com, with the increase of disposable incomes as well as the relatively reasonable tour packages put forward by travel agencies, over 5,000 Chinese people are expected to travel to the Antarctica in 2017.

And China is set to surpass Australia and become the second largest tourist source for Antarctica, following just the US.

Currently, Antarctica tour packages in China cost between 70,000 and 160,000 yuan.

Activities include a close look at local animals such as penguins, seals and whales, as well as camping and hiking.

Most visitors land at the Antarctic Peninsula on vessels departing from southern Argentina.

Antarctica tour, that's hard interesting and expensive.
 
China to hold 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-18 20:04:17|Editor: Mengjie

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China will hold the 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and 20th Committee for Environmental Protection meetings from May 22 to June 1, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Thursday.

Hua made the announcement at a daily press briefing, saying that Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a speech.

The ATCM is an annual decision-making mechanism established under the the Antarctic Treaty. China acceded to the Antarctic Treaty in 1983 and became a consultative member two years later.

"This is the first time for China to hold the consultative meeting," said Hua. Some 400 delegates from 42 countries and 10 international organizations have already signed up for the meetings.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi will hold a welcome banquet and give a speech, said Hua.

The main focuses of the meetings will include the operation of the Antarctic Treaty system, climate change, tourism and Antarctic's special protection and management regions.

"We will issue a press communique as the host country to present main achievements of the meetings," said Hua.

"We will also hold a special meeting, issue 'China's Antarctic Undertaking' and sign MOUs with the United States, Russia and Germany," said Hua.
 
Nation's first Antarctic airfield may see building begin by 2018
By Zhao Lei | China Daily | Updated: 2017-04-12

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Scientists who arrived in Shanghai aboard the Xuelong icebreaker on Tuesday are reunited with their families after completing the nation's 33rd Antarctic expedition, which included surveying an airfield site. [Photo/Xinhua]

Progress continues on China's first airfield in Antarctica, with site selection and a survey completed and plans set for construction to begin as early as year's end, according to a senior scientist.

The airfield, near China's Zhongshan Station, will be able to handle fixed-wing aircraft. Specialists from the nation's 33rd Antarctic expedition recently surveyed a 3-square-kilometer area selected for the airfield, said Sun Bo, deputy director of the Polar Research Institute of China under the State Oceanic Administration.

Sun spoke at a news conference after the welcoming ceremony in Shanghai for the 33rd Antarctic expedition, which ended a 161-day mission and returned to its base in Shanghai on Tuesday morning.

The 328-member expedition conducted a great amount of scientific research and experiments at and around the country's four Antarctic stations-Changcheng, Zhongshan, Taishan and Kunlun-according to the institute. It added that the Xuelong icebreaker and Haiyang 6 scientific survey ship, the two vessels carrying the expedition team, also conducted oceanographic and geological research.

Sun said the construction of the planned airfield will be carried out by the 34th Antarctic expedition, which is set to arrive in Antarctica around the end of this year, adding that the infrastructure project will go through an international environmental protection review.

"At first the airfield will have only one runway, so the construction will be easy-we will only need to flatten the selected area and maintain it. Fixed-wing aircraft will need to be equipped with a pair of runners so they can land," he told China Daily.

"Next, we plan to build some runways in the same area. They will be flatter than the first runway and will be capable of accommodating large fixed-wing planes that are not equipped with runners," Sun said.

The airfield will greatly facilitate the nation's Antarctic explorations, Sun said.

There are about 40 airstrips in service in Antarctica with the United States, Australia and Italy being the major operators.

During the 33rd expedition, Chinese scientists used the Xueying 601, the only fixed-wing aircraft used by China for Antarctic research, to perform airborne remote sensing and telemetry operations, which means China is now able to conduct aerial surveys in Antarctica, Sun said.

In another development, Lin Shanqing, deputy head of State Oceanic Administration, said at the news conference that the 33rd expedition completed a survey of possible sites of China's fifth Antarctic station near the Ross Sea, a bay in Antarctica. He said experts inspected and examined five locations before deciding.

Preparation for the new station has been completed and construction will start as soon as 2018, Lin said.

The Ross Sea is believed to be the least altered marine ecosystem on Earth, making it a living laboratory that may provide insights about Antarctica's history.
 
Antarctic capacity will be boosted
By Zhao Lei | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-23 07:40

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Research vessel and icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) on a mission in Antarctic on Dec 5, 2016. [Photo/CCTV]

China published its first white paper on its Antarctic explorations on Monday, pledging to boost its capabilities in the exploration and study of the continent.

The paper says China will build a new permanent station and advanced icebreakers, develop aerial capability for survey and transportation, and design scientific apparatuses for the Antarctic environment. However, it does not elaborate on schedules and details.

The white paper, China's Antarctic Programs, was produced by the State Oceanic Administration and released in Beijing on Monday, a day ahead of the 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, being held in the capital from Tuesday to June 1.

About 400 delegates from 42 countries and 10 international organizations planned to take part in the meeting, which is an annual decision-making session established under the Antarctic Treaty. It will be China's first time to be host.

Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli will attend the meeting's opening on Tuesday and will address the group, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a news conference last week.

The main topics are to include the implementation of the Antarctic Treaty system, climate change's impacts, tourism, and special protection and management regions, Hua said.

China signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1983 and became a consultative member two years later. It sent its first Antarctic expedition in 1984 and set up its first permanent station the next year. It now maintains four Antarctic stations-Changcheng, Zhongshan, Taishan and Kunlun, and has sent 33 expeditions.

Chinese scientists have chosen a site for China's fifth Antarctic station, which will be near the Ross Sea, in the Southern Ocean, Lin Shanqing, deputy head of the State Oceanic Administration, said in April. He said that experts had inspected five locations including Inexpressible Island and the Brown Peninsula during the 33rd Antarctic expedition, which concluded in April.

Preparation work for the new station has been completed and construction will start as soon as 2018, Lin said.

China has also finished the site selection and survey for its first airfield in Antarctica, and construction is planned to start as early as the end of this year.

The airfield will be able to handle fixed-wing aircraft. At first there will be only one runway and fixed-wing aircraft will need to be equipped with a pair of runners to land, said Sun Bo, deputy director of the administration's Polar Research Institute of China. Other planned runways in the same area will be flatter and thus capable of handling large airplanes not equipped with runners.
 
With China’s Help, Russia Pursues Decades-Old Dream of Arctic Railways

Russia’s Arkhangelsk region hopes for an economic turnaround spurred by China’s investment in a new railway and deepwater port. But such plans have existed for decades in northern Russia and often fail to materialize, says Paul Josephson, a professor of Soviet history.

John Thompson, Narine Ohanyan Jun. 1, 2017
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Igor Orlov, the governor of Arkhangelsk region, speaks at an Arctic conference held in late March. During the meeting he touted the potential of a new railroad and deep-sea port to provide jobs for the economically depressed region.Ryumin Aleksandr/TASS

When Russia staged a big Arctic conference earlier this year at the historic northern port city of Arkhangelsk, it was hard to escape the contrast between the sunny optimism of Russian officials who spoke at the venue about their country’s northern economic development opportunities and the bleaker views of residents on the street who griped about the lack of jobs and investments in the area. Unemployment in the region runs high, and for lack of jobs, many young, educated people end up leaving for brighter prospects elsewhere.

Igor Orlov, the governor of Arkhangelsk region, says he has high hopes this could change thanks to plans to build a big new railway and accompanying deepwater port. The rail line, known as the Belkomur, would help haul coal, fertilizer, oil, timber and a variety of metals from Siberia and the Urals to a new deepwater port planned outside of the city of Arkhangelsk. Orlov points to estimates that the Belkomur’s construction could create up to 6,400 jobs, while its operation could employ up to 40,000.

“The local people will be involved in the construction works,” Orlov told Arctic Deeply. “The project will create growth conditions for them, young people will get prospects, social infrastructure will emerge.”

The project is largely being bankrolled by a Chinese company, China Poly Group Corporation, at an expected cost of $5.5 billion. It is part of China’s broader foray into northern resource projects, notably seen with an investment in a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the Yamal Peninsula. Such projects offer much-needed cash as Russia grapples with the impact of Western sanctions. Russian officials say trains could be rolling along the Belkomur line by 2023.

But over many decades similar plans have been proposed in northern Russia without coming to fruition, according to Paul Josephson, a professor of Soviet history at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and the author of “The Conquest of the Russian Arctic.”

While acknowledging what’s changed over the years – “in the past they used slave labor and now they’re hoping to use well-paid workers with hard hats and steel-toed shoes” – Josephson wonders whether ambitious railroad projects, hobbled by long distances and difficult terrain, will be any easier to complete today.

Arctic Deeply spoke to Josephson about Russia’s long-standing dreams of unlocking its northern riches with ambitious infrastructure projects, and what obstacles continue to stand in the way.

Arctic Deeply: These plans have, in a manner of speaking, been on the books for a long time. Should we be expecting them to materialize anytime soon?

Paul Josephson: Let’s consider what the Chinese are doing, not only in Russia but in Africa. They’re claiming that they’re going to come in and build all sorts of infrastructure and finally unlock the resources that the Europeans tried to unlock in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century with their own railroads. Cecil Rhodes had this idea to have a railroad from Cairo to Cape Town.

Why are the Chinese any different, that their money and their technological prowess will open up resources that no one else has been able to, whether in Africa or in the Russian Arctic? This is very difficult, obviously – the climate, the geography and so on. There will be lots of money and there’ll be lots of effort, but it’s hard to imagine that it will be done according to any kind of hard and fast schedule. The schedules are not written in permafrost.

Arctic Deeply: At the conference, Russian officials spent most of their time speaking about the future, and there were always big numbers attached to the future. The governor says that 40,000 jobs are going to be produced as a result of the railway. How credible are these numbers?

Josephson: Many of the documents that the Russian government puts out, just like a budget of any government, it’s a wish list in many respects – “We want this because there will be more jobs.” For example, the Russian ministry for the state corporation of atomic energy, Rosatom, has put out these plans to build scores of reactors by 2030. That is, “This is what we would love to do if we had the money.” It’s a hope, it’s a desire. It may be utopian, but that’s what visionaries do.

I think these are far-fetched, given Russia’s economic situation, the difficulty of the investor environment, the obligation to rely on the Chinese and others. There’s also a $30 billion investment to tap Siberian oil for China. There are discussions of building a transfer canal to bring water from the Siberian rivers into China, as well.

Arctic Deeply: There is also the big Yamal LNG project. That’s a real thing, right? It’s actually being built. I suppose you could point to that as an example of how China actually is putting new infrastructure in the ground in Arctic Russia.

Josephson: That’s right. I think that will certainly happen, but given the extent of these projects and the difficulties of past experience around the world, President Vladimir Putin’s endorsement may not mean anything different.

President Putin also wants to have a moon base by 2030. Is that going to happen? I don’t think so. It just seems like a very difficult thing to do with all of these massive projects. This railroad, these pipelines, this money from China … It just seems a little far-fetched.

Arctic Deeply: What are some of the considerations that have led to this relationship where China is looking to bankroll projects in Arctic Russia?

Josephson: In some senses, China is resource-starved, especially for oil and gas. It’s trying to wean itself from coal. It wants more water. It needs more timber. It needs various rare metals for its computer and other industries. It sees Russia as a great source of that, so the investment is worthwhile.

The Chinese feel they can work with the Russians and not be discouraged by the same discouragements faced by many Western companies that have been in Russia and have left, because of the opaque laws and sudden midnight attacks by tax officials. Or because Russia has taken back its joint Russian-Western oil, gas and other operations and made them fully Russian. I think that they both think they can play the other, because they have real needs. Russia needs investment and it wants to develop its resources.

Also, it’s extremely important for regional governors to bring in capital. There’s a national Arctic development plan that the governor of Arkhangelsk is clearly interested in. There are many cities in the Arkhangelsk region, and in Petra and Karelia and so on, that have – the Russian word is razrukha – they’ve fallen into decay since the 1990s. There’s been tremendous out-migration, especially of young men but also of young women.

Arctic Deeply: We certainly saw that in the city of Arkhangelsk. Lots of dilapidated buildings and apparently the historic port is in pretty shabby condition. The young people that we met on the street were saying there are no jobs. They were maybe hoping to get a job with the military. Cabbies complained about how all the money is going to Moscow and none of the money is coming there.

Josephson: I think that’s fair. Moscow is a black hole of power and money. I spent a lot of time in the northwest and I was on a Fulbright [scholarship program] in Arkhangelsk for four or five months in 2007 or so. I’ve gone back a couple of times and things are … It is a kind of decay. If you look at the history of Arkhangelsk, when Stalin died and Khrushchev came to power, he promised investment the way that the governor is hoping for today. There was some investment. New apartment complexes and so on.

There was no bridge across the northern river where there is now. Until the Khrushchev era they had to build an ice bridge or use ferries – until the 1960s. Imagine a Canadian lumber city of some repute, in 1962, that had to rely on ferries or ice and snow bridges across a frozen river. Investment in the Russian north, except for the strategic industries – not in some of the social infrastructural cities – has lagged considerably.

It does seem as if the unemployment is higher, the infrastructure is more decrepit in these cities. It’s not the hope that the governor has and he rightfully has the hope. Of course he wants 40,000 more jobs. I’m just skeptical because you don’t see this working out in the past. Why is the future different? I don’t get it yet, I’m sorry to say.

https://www.newsdeeply.com/arctic/a...ly&utm_term=0_6049fe392e-0c6658149b-117485521
 
China, Japan, S. Korea agree to enhance cooperation on Arctic research
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 11:42:38|Editor: Lu Hui



TOKYO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to enhance cooperation on scientific studies on the Arctic Ocean at a trilateral high-level talks.

A joint statement issued after the talks citing environmental and climate changes in the Arctic region, said these changes have presented the international community with both challenges and opportunities and it is necessary for the three countries to enhance cooperation under international frameworks including the Arctic Council.

The second trilateral high-level talks held here on Thursday were attended by Special Representative for Arctic Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Gao Feng, Japanese Ambassador in Charge of Arctic Affairs Kazuko Shiraishi and the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Ambassador for Arctic Affairs Kim Young-jun, as well as employees of other concerned agencies and research centers in the three countries.

The three sides also reaffirmed scientific research as the most promising area for their joint activities and trilateral cooperative activities, and encouraged their scientists to enhance cooperation in observation and research projects on the Arctic under international frameworks while continuing to explore cooperative projects in other areas.

The three sides also decided to report their discussions to the Arctic Council.

The three Asian countries held their first trilateral talks on the Arctic issues in April last year in Seoul, in an effort to implement the fruits reached at the Sixth China-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Summit in 2015.

China is to host the Third Trilateral High-Level Dialogue on the Arctic in 2018.
 
Unveiling China’s fifth research station in Antarctica
By Guo Meiping
2017-06-12 18:42 GMT+8

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Although it’s already been two months since she returned home, Dr. Zhang Qiao’s excitement of stepping on Antarctica for the first time remains fresh in her memory.

“We could sometimes see seals on the floating ice and whales coming out of the ocean while on the ship,” recalled Zhang, staff of the Second Institute of Oceanography at China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA).

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Seal on a block of floating ice. /VCG Photo

As a member of the nation's 33rd Antarctic expedition team, Zhang took off from Shanghai on January 16, 2017, returning on April 11 after an 85-day trip. The expedition marked the end of the site selection process for China's fifth research base in the South Pole.

Antarctica occupies about 13.8 million square kilometers of land, almost one and a half times the size of China's territory. However, it took as long as five years for the location of the new base on the “white desert” to be confirmed.

Why is China building a fifth base?

As one of the four female members of the team, Zhang’s main duty was conducting geological investigations in the Ross Ocean, including taking samples of the seabed. China's fifth research station is set to be built on Inexpressible Island in the Ross Ocean area.

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Locations of four existing research bases of China and the newly announced one. /CGTN Photo

Over the past 30 years, China has established four research bases - the Great Wall station, Zhongshan station, Kunlun station and Taishan station. The Great Wall station was the first to be opened on February 4, 1999. Among the existing four, the inland Kunlun station, built in 2008, can only be operational for ten years due to constantly accumulated snow. Taishan station will only be open for 15 years for the same reason.

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Return of the 31st Antarctic expedition team. /VCG Photo

Antarctica's environment can be very harsh sometimes. According to Tong Laixi, a member of the 32nd expedition and researcher of the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry at the Chinese Academy of Science, force 12 winds are rare but possible.

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Icebreaker Xuelong returns to Shanghai after the 33rd Antarctic expedition./ Xinhua Photo‍

Tong, who has been to the region five times, spent most of his Antarctic life on "MV Xuelong", the Chinese ice-breaking research vessel built in 1993.

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China’s first polar airplane “Xueying 601” successfully conducted a trial flight at Zhongshan Station on December 7, 2015. / Xinhua Photo

New station to be completed in 2022

Five site selection investigations were conducted by China’s 33rd expedition team around the Ross Sea area, a region already home to research bases led by teams from the US, New Zealand, Italy and South Korea.

A suitable location was finally found on the west coast of the Ross Sea - on the Inexpressible Island. Despite the harsh environment, this island has significant research value due to its unique natural conditions.

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VCG Photo

According to Dr. Yuan Yuan, Zhang’s colleague, all members must study the rules and regulations of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) before setting off for the region. ATS, an international pact observed by 53 states, sets out rules on areas such as equipment, dealing with waste and litter. No waste can be left in the ocean or on the land. At Zhongshan station, all garbage and faeces much be brought back from the South Pole by aircraft.

“Lots of people joke about tasting the seafood in the ocean,” Yuan said. “It’s impossible because catching [fish] is forbidden by the treaty.”

“All members followed the rules precisely, That impressed me the most,” Zhang added.

“The Antarctica investigation of China is actually quite mature. We have four stations with different functions, and the fifth is on the way. Both life and research support is thorough, on land or in the ocean, which helps with our research. I miss my life there, and will keep following information about the South Pole,” concluded Zhang.
 
ICED OUT: CHINA, JAPAN, AND S. KOREA HOLD DIALOGUE ON THE ARCTIC

MIA BENNETTJUNE 13, 2017

A little over four years ago, as several Asian countries were vying for observer status in the Arctic Council, there was some concern over what might happen if they were not admitted. Shut out from the region’s preeminent intergovernmental body, would China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and India discuss their interests in the Arctic elsewhere, in a forum like the United Nations or the International Maritime Organization? Might they even talk about the Arctic at a conference like the Arctic Circle, which, though based in Iceland, strongly promotes a global envisioning of the Arctic?

These fears were cast aside when the five Asian countries and Italy gained observer status at the Kiruna Arctic Council Ministerial in 2013. However, certain observers like China have been less than thrilled with arrangements in the Arctic Council. Observers, after all, are meant to more or less just watch proceedings. They do not speak unless asked, and though they are expected to contribute to the activities of the Arctic Council, they can never really spearhead initiatives. Observers’ financial contributions for any one project can never total more than 50% of all funding.

Partly in reaction to the strictures of the Arctic Council and partly a reflection of growing synergies between the East Asian countries, last week, Tokyo hosted the Second Trilateral High-Level Dialogue on the Arctic. The meeting involved Japan’s Arctic Ambassador, Ms. Kazuko Shiraishi, China’s Special Representative for Arctic Affairs, Mr. Gao Feng, and South Korea’s Arctic Ambassador, Mr. Kim Young-jun.

The trilateral dialogue, which follows on the prior one held in Seoul last year, emerged out of the Joint Declaration for Peace and Cooperation in Northeast Asia (PDF) issued in November 2015. The declaration gave renewed impetus to regional trust-building and trilateral cooperation following a three-and-a-half year hiatus caused by various political disagreements between the three countries. It lists many points of possible cooperation including nuclear safety, North Korea, the green economy, and, buried somewhere in the middle, the Arctic. Point 34 reads: “Acknowledging the global importance of Arctic issues, we will launch a trilateral high-level dialogue on the Arctic to share Arctic policies, explore cooperative projects and seek ways to deepen cooperation over the Arctic.”

Fast forward to June 8, 2017, when Tokyo successfully hosted the second trilateral dialogue on the Arctic. At the meeting, the three officials and other research associates from Asian institutions working on the Arctic gave presentations on each country’s policy in the Arctic, related challenges, and the potential for cooperation between Japan, China, and South Korea in the region. The three Northeast Asian countries also agreed to conduct a joint study to assess pollution and climate impacts in the Arctic, largely in the oceans rather than on land. This study, along with the perspectives contained within the joint statement released following the dialogue, reflects distinct efforts on behalf of the there Asian countries to frame the Arctic at a global scale and as a maritime region. Both efforts help to legitimize Asian involvement in the Arctic by undermining the importance of land, sovereign territory, and national and regional boundaries. The opening paragraph of the joint statement reads,

“Climate change is affecting the vulnerable Arctic ecosystems, the livelihoods of local inhabitants and indigenous communities on a global scale, while the melting of ice brings new opportunities such as natural resources and marine fisheries in the Arctic as well as the opening of sea routes.”

Here, Japan, China, and South Korea are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. The three countries pay lip service to the vulnerabilities of local and indigenous peoples in the Arctic while also claiming that these vulnerabilities exist “on a global scale.”

Additionally, two of the three opportunities that the dialogue mentions are maritime-based: marine fisheries and shipping routes. All three Northeast Asian countries have sizable deep-water fishing fleets, a reason that law professor Erik Molenaar claims is why they, along with Iceland and the European Union, were invited by the five Arctic coastal states to participate in the December 2015 Washington Meeting on High Seas Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean.

Japan, China, and South Korea don’t just claim to seek resources. The next sentence in the joint statement argues,

“In particular, it is indispensable for the international community to ensure the protection and preservation of the fragile marine environment of the Arctic Ocean, and maintain peace, stability and constructive cooperation based on a rule-based maritime order.”

The three countries clearly see the marine environment as a legitimate space for them to exert influence in line with a “rule-based maritime order,” generally taken to be the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Cleverly, the three countries parrot language from the controversial Ilulissat Declaration in 2008, which was an attempt by the five Arctic coastal states to solidify their control and authority over matters of Arctic governance. In that declaration, the U.S., Canada, Russia, Norway, and Denmark proclaimed, “This framework provides a solid foundation for responsible management by the five coastal States and other users of this Ocean through national implementation and application of relevant provisions.” Whereas the Arctic Five emphasize the national oversight allowed by UNCLOS, however, the Asian countries underscore the rights and responsibilities of the international community in the world’s oceans provided by the same treaty.

China, Japan, and South Korea also announced that they would report discussions held during the dialogue to the Arctic Council, again trying to place nice with the right people. The Asian countries have come a long way from the days when Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo of China’s People’s Liberation Army declared in 2010, “The Arctic belongs to all the people around the world as no nation has sovereignty over it.” While the idea of the Central Arctic Ocean as a global commons still motivates a great deal of Asian involvement in the region, the language the Asian countries use to justify their presence is now more careful and measured so that their participation is not perceived as undue interference.

Sometime next year, China will host the third Trilateral High-Level Dialogue on the Arctic. In a way, then, perhaps the Arctic Council’s worries from a few years back that the Asian countries would sidestep the body are slowly coming true. Even though China, Japan, and South Korea are reporting their discussions to the Arctic Council, important discussions about the Arctic are taking place in a venue outside of the control of sovereign Arctic states – and without any of their participation or even mere observation.

If the trilateral dialogue ever expands to include other non-sovereign actors – for instance, if South Korea, which is continuing to enhance its cooperation with indigenous peoples’ organizations in the Arctic, decided to invite the Aleut International Association to next year’s meeting – this likely wouldn’t go down very well with the Arctic Council. Then, the body may have to seriously reconsider the role of observers lest other restless ones like the United Kingdom, Spain, and newly admitted Switzerland start forming their own separate dialogues on a region that it seems more and more countries on Earth see as part of their own watery backyard.

@JSCh , @Shotgunner51 , @samsara , @yusheng , @GS Zhou
 
With China’s Help, Russia Pursues Decades-Old Dream of Arctic Railways

Russia’s Arkhangelsk region hopes for an economic turnaround spurred by China’s investment in a new railway and deepwater port. But such plans have existed for decades in northern Russia and often fail to materialize, says Paul Josephson, a professor of Soviet history.

John Thompson, Narine Ohanyan Jun. 1, 2017
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Igor Orlov, the governor of Arkhangelsk region, speaks at an Arctic conference held in late March. During the meeting he touted the potential of a new railroad and deep-sea port to provide jobs for the economically depressed region.Ryumin Aleksandr/TASS

When Russia staged a big Arctic conference earlier this year at the historic northern port city of Arkhangelsk, it was hard to escape the contrast between the sunny optimism of Russian officials who spoke at the venue about their country’s northern economic development opportunities and the bleaker views of residents on the street who griped about the lack of jobs and investments in the area. Unemployment in the region runs high, and for lack of jobs, many young, educated people end up leaving for brighter prospects elsewhere.

Igor Orlov, the governor of Arkhangelsk region, says he has high hopes this could change thanks to plans to build a big new railway and accompanying deepwater port. The rail line, known as the Belkomur, would help haul coal, fertilizer, oil, timber and a variety of metals from Siberia and the Urals to a new deepwater port planned outside of the city of Arkhangelsk. Orlov points to estimates that the Belkomur’s construction could create up to 6,400 jobs, while its operation could employ up to 40,000.

“The local people will be involved in the construction works,” Orlov told Arctic Deeply. “The project will create growth conditions for them, young people will get prospects, social infrastructure will emerge.”

The project is largely being bankrolled by a Chinese company, China Poly Group Corporation, at an expected cost of $5.5 billion. It is part of China’s broader foray into northern resource projects, notably seen with an investment in a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the Yamal Peninsula. Such projects offer much-needed cash as Russia grapples with the impact of Western sanctions. Russian officials say trains could be rolling along the Belkomur line by 2023.

But over many decades similar plans have been proposed in northern Russia without coming to fruition, according to Paul Josephson, a professor of Soviet history at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and the author of “The Conquest of the Russian Arctic.”

While acknowledging what’s changed over the years – “in the past they used slave labor and now they’re hoping to use well-paid workers with hard hats and steel-toed shoes” – Josephson wonders whether ambitious railroad projects, hobbled by long distances and difficult terrain, will be any easier to complete today.

Arctic Deeply spoke to Josephson about Russia’s long-standing dreams of unlocking its northern riches with ambitious infrastructure projects, and what obstacles continue to stand in the way.

Arctic Deeply: These plans have, in a manner of speaking, been on the books for a long time. Should we be expecting them to materialize anytime soon?

Paul Josephson: Let’s consider what the Chinese are doing, not only in Russia but in Africa. They’re claiming that they’re going to come in and build all sorts of infrastructure and finally unlock the resources that the Europeans tried to unlock in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century with their own railroads. Cecil Rhodes had this idea to have a railroad from Cairo to Cape Town.

Why are the Chinese any different, that their money and their technological prowess will open up resources that no one else has been able to, whether in Africa or in the Russian Arctic? This is very difficult, obviously – the climate, the geography and so on. There will be lots of money and there’ll be lots of effort, but it’s hard to imagine that it will be done according to any kind of hard and fast schedule. The schedules are not written in permafrost.

Arctic Deeply: At the conference, Russian officials spent most of their time speaking about the future, and there were always big numbers attached to the future. The governor says that 40,000 jobs are going to be produced as a result of the railway. How credible are these numbers?

Josephson: Many of the documents that the Russian government puts out, just like a budget of any government, it’s a wish list in many respects – “We want this because there will be more jobs.” For example, the Russian ministry for the state corporation of atomic energy, Rosatom, has put out these plans to build scores of reactors by 2030. That is, “This is what we would love to do if we had the money.” It’s a hope, it’s a desire. It may be utopian, but that’s what visionaries do.

I think these are far-fetched, given Russia’s economic situation, the difficulty of the investor environment, the obligation to rely on the Chinese and others. There’s also a $30 billion investment to tap Siberian oil for China. There are discussions of building a transfer canal to bring water from the Siberian rivers into China, as well.

Arctic Deeply: There is also the big Yamal LNG project. That’s a real thing, right? It’s actually being built. I suppose you could point to that as an example of how China actually is putting new infrastructure in the ground in Arctic Russia.

Josephson: That’s right. I think that will certainly happen, but given the extent of these projects and the difficulties of past experience around the world, President Vladimir Putin’s endorsement may not mean anything different.

President Putin also wants to have a moon base by 2030. Is that going to happen? I don’t think so. It just seems like a very difficult thing to do with all of these massive projects. This railroad, these pipelines, this money from China … It just seems a little far-fetched.

Arctic Deeply: What are some of the considerations that have led to this relationship where China is looking to bankroll projects in Arctic Russia?

Josephson: In some senses, China is resource-starved, especially for oil and gas. It’s trying to wean itself from coal. It wants more water. It needs more timber. It needs various rare metals for its computer and other industries. It sees Russia as a great source of that, so the investment is worthwhile.

The Chinese feel they can work with the Russians and not be discouraged by the same discouragements faced by many Western companies that have been in Russia and have left, because of the opaque laws and sudden midnight attacks by tax officials. Or because Russia has taken back its joint Russian-Western oil, gas and other operations and made them fully Russian. I think that they both think they can play the other, because they have real needs. Russia needs investment and it wants to develop its resources.

Also, it’s extremely important for regional governors to bring in capital. There’s a national Arctic development plan that the governor of Arkhangelsk is clearly interested in. There are many cities in the Arkhangelsk region, and in Petra and Karelia and so on, that have – the Russian word is razrukha – they’ve fallen into decay since the 1990s. There’s been tremendous out-migration, especially of young men but also of young women.

Arctic Deeply: We certainly saw that in the city of Arkhangelsk. Lots of dilapidated buildings and apparently the historic port is in pretty shabby condition. The young people that we met on the street were saying there are no jobs. They were maybe hoping to get a job with the military. Cabbies complained about how all the money is going to Moscow and none of the money is coming there.

Josephson: I think that’s fair. Moscow is a black hole of power and money. I spent a lot of time in the northwest and I was on a Fulbright [scholarship program] in Arkhangelsk for four or five months in 2007 or so. I’ve gone back a couple of times and things are … It is a kind of decay. If you look at the history of Arkhangelsk, when Stalin died and Khrushchev came to power, he promised investment the way that the governor is hoping for today. There was some investment. New apartment complexes and so on.

There was no bridge across the northern river where there is now. Until the Khrushchev era they had to build an ice bridge or use ferries – until the 1960s. Imagine a Canadian lumber city of some repute, in 1962, that had to rely on ferries or ice and snow bridges across a frozen river. Investment in the Russian north, except for the strategic industries – not in some of the social infrastructural cities – has lagged considerably.

It does seem as if the unemployment is higher, the infrastructure is more decrepit in these cities. It’s not the hope that the governor has and he rightfully has the hope. Of course he wants 40,000 more jobs. I’m just skeptical because you don’t see this working out in the past. Why is the future different? I don’t get it yet, I’m sorry to say.

https://www.newsdeeply.com/arctic/a...ly&utm_term=0_6049fe392e-0c6658149b-117485521
This so-called EXPERT, Paul Josephson, a professor of Soviet history at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, USA is just another typical western expert showing his great though euphemized skepticism over the Chinese capability and will at building the infrastructure, incl. the very tough environment such as in the deep Africa and the permafrost lands.

This prof must have been unaware of the Chinese construction projects in the permafrost land such as the parts of Qinghai-Tibetan Railway and the Karakoram Highway and so on.

I won't listen to the trashes spit out by this American historian prof about the infrastructure building, he simply knows nothing or just little in this area... or simply catering different agendas here. How could he just keep his reference back to the old era of Stalin, the BOLSHEVIK Soviet Union, the great exploitation of the Western colonialists in the African Continent etc and use them as the great biased yardsticks to measure today's developments??? Why not this Soviet historian professor discuss in great length the immense loots of the Russian resources after the collapse of the Soviet Union by some Jew Russian Kleptocrats in collaboration with the Berkeley Mafia (IMF, World Bank, western financial advisors) during the Boris Yeltsin era... the famous/infamous names such as the Yukos Oil Khodorkovsky; the Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky who eventually died mysteriously in London; Roman Abramovich the owner of the Chelsea football club and many others... so many suddenly popped-up billionaires from nowhere ran away from Russia into the West after the rise of Vladimir Putin... just read "Harvard Mafia, Andrei Shleifer and the economic rape of Russia".

By his measurements, all the progresses that have been achieved by China won't be possible today because that Middle Kingdom was so poor in resources and so backward in technology in its last 2 to 3 centuries for being under the demise empire and many quasi-colonialists... the West did invest in the many parts of the world not just in China alone, but which one that's able to move on so fast at the scale of China until today???
All the achievements that have been made as of 1980s until today and are still going on with higher velocity won't exist if the gloomy past was used as the main reference.

Well, just ignore the skepticism of this American prof, a Fullbright taker, and put in the trashbin. This man mentioned about the Cecile Rhodes, did he know Cecile Rhodes was one of the key architects of the establishment of the privately owned Federal Reserve bank of America ("The Fed" -- see the book "The Creature From Jekyll Island" 5th Edition (2010) authored by G. Edward Griffin), with its shareholders are those largest private banks in the USA owned by the old European oligarchs like Rothschild and other generational wealthy families? Cecile Rhodes was one of the wickedest financiers/oligarchs in exploiting the Asian and African Continents back then... aside from the technology limitation, what real developments to expect from such a vulture personality???

Just look around, search and dig deeper to learn the misdeeds of a Cecile Rhodes (the Rhodes Island was named after him)... Edward Griffin's book is a good start indeed; see also the many works of the American author, EUSTACE MULLINS, the book of "None Dare Call It Conspiracy" by GARY ALLEN etc on these issues... :smitten:
 
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