Russia and China are building an Arctic empire

OTTAWA, ON (August 19, 2025):

Russia and China are building a strategic Arctic partnership designed to exclude Canadian and Western influence from one of the world’s most economically important regions, according to new analysis from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.

In Force Multipliers: How Russia’s governors amplify Putin’s polar partnership with China, Senior Fellow Alexander Dalziel reveals a coordinated campaign by Russian Arctic governors to embed China as the region’s dominant economic partner. Through systematic social media promotion, these regional leaders are positioning the Northern Sea Route as a revolutionary alternative to traditional shipping lanes while flooding Arctic ports with Chinese consumer goods and technology.

Dalziel analyzed nearly 200 posts showing governors celebrating how Chinese imports are improving Russian lives while their natural resources flow exclusively to Beijing’s markets. The governors openly dismiss Western sanctions as ineffective and promote China as a reliable partner during international isolation.

This represents far more than diplomatic co-operation. Russian regional leaders are institutionalizing the partnership through Chinese language education in Arctic schools, cultural exchanges, and long-term economic agreements designed to outlast current leadership.

Most concerning for Canada, Russia is leveraging its Arctic territory to build what the study describes as “an authoritarian brand” that courts non-Western partners while explicitly rejecting North American and European influence.

The implications are stark. As Russia and China deepen their Arctic integration, Canada risks being shut out of critical northern trade routes and resource development opportunities.

Dalziel warns that democratic Arctic nations must work together to challenge this authoritarian model. By “reinvigorating their own international engagement” through enhanced co-operation on economic development, science, and Indigenous governance, Canada and its Arctic allies can offer a compelling alternative to centralized, authoritarian control.

The window for Western Arctic leadership is closing as Russia systematically hands the northern territories’ economic future to Beijing.

To learn more, read the full paper here: