Jana Robinson / 10 Sep 2020

The article (available here) describes the rapid tempo of China’s space presence in the Arctic, including an overview of their polar stations, the main Chinese enterprises involved, and the strategic and commercial business transactions designed to advance Beijing’s strategic objectives. It argues that China engages in a subtle, incremental, approach (versus the more open ‘space sector capture’ activities in many developing countries) to legitimize and expand its involvement in this pivotal region. It recommends the first-time integration of the economic and financial dimensions of China’s space-related predations into the common operating pictures of allied military and space agencies.