Denmark rejects Chinese firm’s bid to buy abandoned Greenland naval base, to avoid upsetting US

Denmark decided to turn down an offer last year from Chinese mining company General Nice Group to buy an abandoned naval base on Greenland due to security concerns, sources involved in the decision said.

Danish politicians did not want to jeopardise their country’s relationship with the United States, Copenhagen’s main ally, by granting another power a potentially military foothold in Greenland, the sources said.

In a statement, the Danish defence ministry said the base at Gronnedal - which had been put up for sale - would be reopened as a strategic and logistical location for storing fuel and materiel and for training personnel. It did not comment on the Chinese offer.

“The government does not want to sell the naval base to China, as we have a long, close partnership with the US and a defence agreement for Greenland with the US from April 1951 to think about,” said a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Greenland is part of Denmark with self-government over domestic affairs, while Copenhagen handles defence and foreign policy.

“It should be obvious to everyone that Denmark cannot have two superpowers playing hide-and-seek in Greenland. I don’t think the US would find such a situation amusing either,” a second source said. Neither source wanted to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.