Closer Finland-China ties of polar development

Deng Beixi, is no stranger to the arctic region, and has visited the region almost 10 times.

The first time Deng, now 28 years old, went to the Arctic was back in 2008 for a two-week workshop in Norway.

"From the very first moment I set foot in the Arctic Circle, I knew my future was polar research," said Deng, who is a researcher with the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC).

In 2013, he joined the China-Nordic Arctic Research Center (CNARC), which had been established in Shanghai earlier that year. It is an expansion of a previous cooperation mechanism between China and Iceland.

The CNARC, as a transnational platform, groups institutions from China, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. It focuses on arctic climate change, arctic resources, cooperation of shipping and economy, arctic policies and legislation.

"The center aims to increase awareness and understanding of the Arctic and its global impact," said Deng.

Although Shanghai is thousands of miles away from the Arctic Circle, Deng said it was chosen as it was "the gateway and departure place of China's polar research."

"Many Chinese universities and research institutes that focus on polar and social sciences are also based in Shanghai, providing support to such activities," he said.

The center runs annual workshops and hosts round-table meetings on China-Nordic Arctic cooperation, and provides grants to those involved in research.

Finland leads the field of polar research, with extensive experience of ice-breaking, harbor planning, shipping, mining, coordinated search and rescue, and submarine optical cables.

"The opening of new arctic shipping route will make China and Nordic countries closer and create opportunities for China-Finland cooperation," Deng said.

He said CNARC is confident that the future will feature more scientific cooperation.

In May this year, Finland will assume the rotating presidency of the Arctic Council. Bilateral cooperation is expected to be stressed in sustainable development, building ice-breakers, basic infrastructure in polar region and polar projects.

"China's polar research icebreaker uses techniques developed by Finnish company Aker Arctic," Deng said. "Cooperation on polar projects between the two sides also has huge potential."

Experts analyzed that China could benefit from the Nordic countries' experience and advanced technologies, while the Nordics, with relatively small populations, could benefit from China's investment and market.