This article analyzes the evolution of Russia–China cooperation in the Arctic in 2025, focusing on its institutional, strategic, and economic dimensions. It examines how Moscow and Beijing are tactically converging through joint infrastructure projects, the Northern Sea Route, and the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, while diverging in their long-term strategic visions. Russia frames the Arctic as a pillar of national development and sovereignty, reinforced by updated strategies, large-scale infrastructure, and new governance mechanisms. China, by contrast, embeds the Arctic in its global diversification agenda, linking it to the Polar Silk Road under the Belt and Road Initiative, and positioning cooperation with Russia as a means of reducing geopolitical vulnerability.
The analysis situates these developments within the broader transformation of the Arctic agenda under conditions of sanctions, global instability, and shifting great-power relations. It highlights the role of institutional innovations—such as the 2025 amendments to Russia’s preferential investment regimes, the Sino-Russian Subcommission on the Northern Sea Route, and China’s Development Group for the Russian Far East and Arctic—in shaping bilateral engagement. By reviewing the interaction of infrastructure projects, legal mechanisms, and soft-power initiatives, the article provides a structured overview of emerging trends and constraints that define the trajectory of Sino-Russian Arctic cooperation in 2025.
The economy of the North - and Beyond 