Currently, all coasts of the Baltic Sea belong to NATO countries, and Turkey, which guards the main channel from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, is also a NATO country. Russia's only two major international trade sea routes, therefore, are all "blocked" by NATO countries
Russian President Vladimir Putin, through his special deputy prime minister, sent a message to Xi Jinping that Russia has found a strategic opportunity to turn the country's fortunes around, but urgently needs China to lend it a greater hand.
When Vladimir Putin visited China in May this year, he spent half of his time in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, a move that at the time sparked speculation in the world's media: Putin's visit to Harbin was not for tourism purposes, and it is likely that Russia needs to expand the scope of cooperation with China in the Far East and the North.
Conceptual map of the Arctic Ocean routes planned by various countries, with Russia's interest in the "Northern Sea Route" shown in red
Later, in Vladivostok, the largest city in the Russian Far East, the fifth meeting of the Sino-Russian Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee "Northeast-East" was held under the co-chairmanship of the leaders of the two sides.
The leader sent by the Chinese side was Vice Premier Zhang of the State Council, while the representative sent by the Russian side was Trutnev, deputy prime minister and presidential plenipotentiary in the Far Eastern Federal District.
Trutnev is Russia's most senior deputy prime minister, and the fact that he chaired this meeting shows the importance the Russian government attaches to it.
During the meeting, Putin sent a message to China through Trutnev that Russia had found a strategic opportunity to revive its national fortunes, but urgently needed China's help to lend Moscow a hand.
Because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which led the West to sanction Moscow, Putin's government sought an opportunity to enable Russia to revitalize itself: to open the "North Sea Route," (NSR) reestablishing between Russia and the world outside the West, trade, energy and military defense ties in order to achieve a strategic goal.
Trutnev formally proposed to Chinato participate in the development of the North Sea Route and the construction of a commercial fleet.
We all know that most of the Russian territory is located in the freezing, subarctic regions at high latitudes. For hundreds of years, Russia has hoped to gain an ice-free port in the south to support Russia's trade with the world. The hope began with the Soviet Union's failed invasion of Afghanistan. Russia's main foreign trade routes are, first, through the ports on the Black Sea, through the straits guarded by Turkey, and into the Mediterranean; secondly, through the port of St. Petersburg, through the Baltic Sea, and then into the Baltic Sea Atlantic Ocean.
With China becoming Russia's main energy customer, the "NSR" provides Moscow with a viable alternative to longer and more insecure routes. India has also expressed interest in its use. Several factors have accelerated its use, including increasingly higher temperatures.
Vladivostok in the Russian Far East is not a freeze-free port, and Russia's economic center of gravity is in some European territories, not in the Far East. Therefore, in the past Vladivostok was not important for Russia. This situation completely changed with the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global sanctions from the West and the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.
Currently, all coasts of the Baltic Sea belong to NATO countries, and Turkey, which guards the main channel from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, is also a NATO country. Russia's only two major international trade sea routes, therefore, are all "blocked" by NATO countries.
This is the main driving force behind Russia's development of the "Northern Sea Route" - this strategic plan is of great importance for the future development of Moscow. This maritime lifeline is tied to Russia's ability to restore its national destiny in the coming decades. In essence, it is a matter of life and death.
The term "Northern Sea Route" refers to maritime routes in the Arctic Ocean. In recent years, due to the melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean, many maritime areas already have conditions for the passage of commercial ships throughout the year, so countries bordering the Arctic Ocean have planned a series of sea routes there.
According to Russian Far East and Arctic Development Minister Aleksey Chekunkov, cargo traffic along the NSR has increased from 4 million tons in 2014 to 34 in 2022. Russia aims to increase the capacity of the NSR to 100 million tons by 2026 and to 200 million tons by 2030.
Of course, there are the United States, Canada, the five Nordic countries, and other planned routes, but the "northern sea route" proposed by Russia refers to the routes along Russian territory, as shown in the figure above.
The Red Route, specifically the one located within the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone of Russian territory; is the most favored route because Russia can rely on land forces to defend this route and for icebreaking, support and other work.
Russia generally uses the Black Sea and the port of Novorossiysk to ship 60 million barrels of crude oil per month. However, since it withdrew from the UN-backed agreement to allow Ukrainian grain exports, the security situation in that sea has become more problematic for merchant shipping, with several attacks on ports and ships. To remedy this problem, Russia considers the NSR route as an alternative way to export its oil and gas.
As early as August 2022, Russia approved the development plan of the "Northern Sea Route" until 2035, including more than 150 projects with a total investment of about 1.8 trillion rubles, including the construction of port infrastructure and channels, railway and river transportation channels, dredging of shipping routes, building Arctic freight and icebreaker fleets, launching Arctic satellite constellations and building medical support facilities, etc.
Subsequently, the Russian government repeatedly spread the word through various channels, and now a senior official at the deputy prime minister level has personally conveyed the message on behalf of President Putin, just to invite China to join the "Northern Sea Route" strategic planning.
China has strong technology and infrastructure building capabilities, ranks first in the world in shipbuilding capabilities, and among the best in financial capabilities. It is not only the largest buyer of Russian export goods, but is also highly consistent with Russia politically. Therefore, for Russia, inviting China to participate in the construction of the “Northern Sea Route” is one of its best options.
Another factor that pushed Russia to further develop the NSR as a viable route was Western sanctions that imposed a ban on Russian crude oil imports. As a result, Moscow had to find customers willing to accept its crude, and despite this ban, the main customer became China.
For China, the route to Europe via the “Northern Sea Route” in peacetime saves thousands of kilometers of travel and at least twenty days of time compared to the traditional route route to Europe via the Indian Ocean , the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
The "standard" Suez Canal route between Europe and Asia is 21,000 km long, while the NSR is13,000 km, with the associated transportation time reduced by more than half. Without the risk of conflict, with a shorter travel time and without the fear of pirate activity, it is obvious why Russia wants to exploit and expand the NSR.
Taking the "Northern Sea Route" can avoid being "stranded" by the United States or India in the Indian Ocean. Regardless of economic or security interests, China has many reasons to participate in the construction of the “Northern Sea Route”.
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