Abstract:
Deemed as an economic powerhouse, China has now become the second-largest
economy and one of the most powerful countries in the world today. This was
believed to be made possible be China continuous increase in power and influence
throughout the globe, especially through its Belt and Road initiative. Along with
the two main elements of the Belt and the Road, China added yet another element
to the BRI framework back in 2018 through its Arctic Policy, which is now
popularly known as the Polar Silk Road in the Arctic region. This decision then
comes as a surprise to several parties, which then raises the question of factors
influencing China in initiating the PSR - which becomes the main focus of this
thesis. In answering the question, it is believed that this decision was fueled by the
increasing geographic accessibility of the region due to global warming and climate
change. For this thesis, the aforementioned argument is further elaborated and
segmented into the internal and external factors and identifies that there are several
factors contributing to influencing the making of this specific foreign policy from
China. These factors include the strategic importance of the Arctic region as the
eminent external factor and three internal factors which are: (1) the Xi Jinping
factor, (2) search of a new geoeconomic zone, as well as (3) regional and economic
development.
