The geopolitics of China’s Arctic tourism resources

Abstract

Chinese outbound tourism is extending into new frontiers, including the Arctic. In this region, where the Chinese state does not claim territorial sovereignty, it seeks to exert its influence by other means. One strategy involves the development of ‘tourism resources’, which the government’s 2018 Arctic Policy promotes. In line with recent work interrogating the geopolitics of tourism, we draw on a review of policy and media documents complemented by field observations to interrogate how the Chinese state and enterprises seek to envision, regulate and extract value from three key forms of tourism resources: individuals, infrastructure and data. Empirically, we advance knowledge of the politics and processes underlying Chinese tourism in a new region. Theoretically, we contribute to a critical geopolitics that reflects upon how governments can develop resources and exercise authority in spaces where they lack territorial sovereignty and where physical territory may be altogether absent, as in the high seas or cyberspace. This study is particularly timely in light of the Chinese state’s expanding governance of areas and issues experiencing calls for international cooperation, including not only the Arctic but also the global commons, the internet and climate change.