The Arctic region is transforming rapidly from a peripheral region to a global theatre with increasing number of non-Arctic stakeholders. One illustration of this process is the growing presence of China in the Arctic. Beijing released its first official Arctic governmental paper in January 2018. This White Paper was the culmination of a long process, which China undertook over the past decade to demonstrate its growing knowledge of, and commitment to, the Arctic region in order to be accepted as an Arctic player despite its lack of geography north of the Arctic Circle. Thus far, the responses to Beijing’s Arctic strategies have been mixed, and have been viewed differently in various parts of the Arctic region. The seminar examines China’s evolving Arctic policy and the country’s diplomatic, economic and strategic presence in the region, as well as the ramifications in Finland.
The seminar marks the publication of the report China in the Arctic funded by the Government Plan for Analysis, Assessment and Research.
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Arto Haapea
Arto Haapea is Team Leader for East Asia and Deputy Director at the Unit for Eastern Asia and Oceania at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland since August 2017. Prior to this, he worked as Political Counsellor at the EU Delegation to China and Mongolia in Beijing, and as Deputy Consul General in Shanghai. Since joining the Foreign Ministry in 2006, he has also served as adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, at the Finnish Embassy in The Hague, and as Legal Adviser at the Finnish Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. He holds a Masters degree in Law from the University in Helsinki (2004).
Jyrki Kallio
Jyrki Kallio is Senior Research Fellow at the FIIA. Prior to joining the Institute, he worked for fifteen years as a diplomat in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. In 2008–09 he represented Finland in the Arctic Council in the capacity of acting Senior Arctic Official. His research interests include Chinese political culture and foreign policy, and regional issues in East Asia. He has a special interest in the instrumentalization of traditional schools of thought in East Asian politics, and is the editor and translator of Mestari Kongin keskustelut – Kungfutselaisuuden ydinolemus (Gaudeamus). He received his PhD in Chinese Society Studies from the University of Lapland.