How cooperation on climate change, polar research can help thaw US-China relations
- Shared interests can open a window for US-China cooperation when the bilateral relationship is experiencing its most difficult and tense phase
- A commitment to multilateralism can also bring US closer to the other Arctic and Antarctic nations
Some might predict few concrete results from these meetings. However, climate change in the context of polar studies, both in the Arctic and Antarctica, opens a window for US-China cooperation when the bilateral relationship has experienced its most difficult and tense phase since the normalisation of ties in 1979.
The Arctic and Antarctic have unique ecosystems where flora and fauna can be studied in largely pristine surroundings. They are key regions for undertaking a range of research that is necessary to understanding global climate systems.
The US is in many ways the most influential country in Antarctica. It operates the only research station at the South Pole, as well as the largest station on the continent, and it continues to support the establishment of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean.
In Antarctica, China has made significant investments and become an active participant in Antarctic governance. China released its first quasi-white paper on its Antarctic activities in 2017, vowing to increase investment in Antarctic research and safeguard the Antarctic Treaty System.
David Balton, senior fellow with the Wilson Centre’s Polar Institute and former ambassador for oceans and fisheries at the US State Department, noted the Biden administration might not view Chinese engagement in the poles the same way as the Trump administration and could be less aggressive in pushing back against China. Overall, the US-China relationship is not a zero-sum game in nature, unlike the US-Soviet relationship during the Cold War.
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The US will not be reluctant to cooperate with China, notably with respect to the Southern Ocean. China supported the US-New Zealand Ross Sea marine protected area proposal in 2016, and it signed the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement alongside the US in 2018.
The most effective means of implementing a climate agenda is through collaborative institutions. For example, the environment and circumstances of the Antarctic encourage cooperation. At the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, it is often reiterated that sharing stations can lessen the human footprint in Antarctica.
Cooperation already happens at many levels, as it has for decades, and perhaps an increased sharing of facilities could be the next big drive. Access to the continent is expensive and a logistical nightmare. In the case of emergencies, entire research seasons must be quickly discarded to ensure lives are not lost. Cooperative research logistics and facilities can alleviate some of this difficulty.
Any increase in data sharing, collection and collaboration through cooperative mechanisms will add value to global efforts to understand climate change and its impact. Joint scientific cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic could provide a political signal of warming relations between the US and China as well as offer more equality in the relationship for limited costs.
Based on the existing history of bilateral collaboration on the Arctic and Antarctica, US-China scientific cooperation to tackle climate change in the poles is achievable and can yield meaningful benefits even during this most challenging time between the two countries.
Nong Hong, PhD, is executive director and senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies (US)