Greenland’s emancipation has come a long way in recent years. Both geopolitically and economically, the country is moving further and further into the center of global attention. In order to better protect its interests with the major global powers, several representations have been opened in recent years. The latest is now in Far East China.
As of last Monday, Greenland is officially in diplomatic relations with China with the opening of its own representative office. This is stated by the Government of Greenland in a press release. The representation was officially opened by the Greenlandic Minister for Independence and Foreign Affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt, and in the presence of high-ranking political representatives of China and the Danish Ambassador Thomas Østrup Møller. As a result, Greenland is now represented not only in the U.S. and Europe, but also in Asia. The new representation is headed by Jacob Isbosethsen.
Basically, both Greenland and the Faroe Islands have been present in China for two years. However, since the Corona policy of the Chinese government had been relaxed only a few months ago, the official opening was to be held just now.
The representation is housed in the buildings of the Danish Embassy in Beijing and will be particularly dedicated to political, cultural and also economic cooperation between the largest island in the world and the most populous country in the world. Accordingly, some business representatives from Greenland were also present at the opening.
Vivian Motzfeldt stated in her speech, “We want to maintain and expand our trade relations and work for better access to the Chinese market, and the official diplomatic relations can contribute to that. There is a great demand for our Greenlandic products, and it is important to take care of these conditions, both administratively and when promoting. At the Greenland Representation we show that we are present and we are always ready for dialogue with the authorities.”
From the representation in China, the government in Nuuk hopes for an advantage in the field of fisheries and access to the Chinese market, as Vivian Motzfeldt further explained in her speech. Greenland’s fishing companies, such as Royal Greenland and Polar Seafood, derive no small part of their revenues from the sale of flatfish, crabs and shrimps in China. But accessing the Chinese market is not easy, as many other European companies in other industries can attest. Bureaucracy and tariffs are just two of the obstacles. In more direct talks thanks to the representation, the intention is to alleviate this.
But China also hopes that Greenland’s representation will facilitate bilateral talks on economic cooperation. The largest country in the world is not only eyeing the products in the waters around the island, but also with the raw materials that lie in the ground and underneath the ice sheet. Studies have shown that in addition to fossil fuels along Greenland’s coastal areas, the island is rich in rare earths, metals, and also uranium. But it is precisely the latter that the current government under Múte B. Egede does not want to touch and had already declared a exploration ban in 2021. This led to a dispute with the coalition partner Siumut that nearly broke up the government this year.
With the opening of its own representation in China, Greenland is opening up a little more to the East. But the Greenland government’s main line of sight is likely to be to the west, despite everything. There are numerous agreements with the USA, which is still stationed at Pituffik Space Base (ex-Thule Air Base) and operates its own representative office in Nuuk. Greenland is also strongly oriented toward its western neighbor in other aspects such as health or even sports.
And there are also close ties with NATO, and Greenland has recently had a representative at NATO headquarters. At the recent Arctic Circle meeting it was also heard several times that Greenland could associate itself more strongly with the defense alliance in the event of independence. For this reason, the opening of its own representation is likely to have been followed closely by the Western partner countries. But no one in Washington or Brussels is really worried that the island could shift further east.
Dr Michael Wenger, PolarJournal
More about this topic
