BEIJING — A top Chinese diplomat sought Friday to allay concerns about his country’s increasingly prominent activities in the Arctic, saying Beijing won’t interfere in the interests of nations in the region. The involvement and contributions of the Chinese government and companies would “bring opportunities to the Arctic,” Kong said at a news conference called to introduce the government’s first comprehensive report on its Arctic policy. “Regarding the role China will play in the Arctic affairs, I want to emphasize two points. “Not being an Arctic country, China will not interfere the affairs that are exclusive to the Arctic countries and inside Arctic region.”China’s presence in the Arctic has raised fears among some countries, mainly that it is seeking to grab resource-extraction opportunities resulting from climate change. It has established especially close relations with Iceland’s support, with whose support it was granted observer status in 2013 at the Arctic Council, whose core members are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, the United States and Iceland.

Source: National Post January 26, 2018 05:55 UTC