BSR Policy Briefing

BSR Policy Briefing 4/2026

Three-Dimensional Chess: China’s Space, Surface and Subsurface Activities in the Arctic
By Sasu Katajamäki and Matti Puranen

This BSR Policy Briefing examines how China’s activities in the Arctic increasingly connect to domains which Chinese leadership define as “new strategic frontiers”, particularly the polar regions, deep seas, and space. It discusses how Chinese official documents, strategic writings, and polar research programs increasingly frame these domains as being interconnected. The article demonstrates how China’s polar research and development activities have, in recent years, sought to build means to particularly access the polar depths and to build three-dimensional space-ground-sea monitoring capabilities.

The article also highlights China’s recent advances in developing polar technologies and equipment and its testing activities during the country’s recent Arctic scientific expeditions, which demonstrate China’s rapid technological advances across several areas.