China’s ‘Ice Silk Road’ opens new Arctic route between Asia and Europe

China is opening a new Arctic trade corridor, dubbed the “Ice Silk Road,” running about 5,500 km along Russia’s Northern Sea Route. It connects major export hubs in eastern China with ports in the UK, Netherlands, Germany and Poland in roughly 20 days—about half the Suez transit time. But navigation is controlled by Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom, requiring permits and icebreaker escorts, and Western sanctions and climate change add further uncertainty, even as the cold benefits sensitiv