China to ‘quietly track’ Greenland developments amid Arctic ambitions for now: analysts

China will closely monitor developments in Greenland as it seeks to become an important player in Arctic affairs. Still, Beijing is unlikely to respond with any major action in the near future to counter US President Donald Trump’s bid to annex the island, analysts said.

“The Arctic is certainly a central matter for policy for China, and they know it’s going to be important in the future, especially with climate change,” said Eurasia Group’s China practice head, David Meale.

In his escalated threats to take control of Greenland for the US, Trump has repeatedly cited the increasing presence of China and Russia in the Arctic as justifications for his plans. He has been moving to strengthen American dominance in the western hemisphere as part of his new national security strategy announced last month.

“China is certainly absorbing this and thinking very carefully about it,” Meale said. “Being singled out in that way in the context of the Arctic has to register.”

China has pushed back against Trump’s warnings about its growing influence in the Arctic. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press conference on Thursday that “the so-called ‘China threat’ was groundless”, and that China opposed “fabricating baseless narratives and using China as a pretext for seeking selfish gains”.

Beijing’s reaction to Trump’s push to seize Greenland has been relatively muted compared to its strong condemnation of US actions against Venezuela.