Unfolding the Concerns of Chinese Government and Companies in Greenland's Mining Sector
Author
Agnoletti, Matteo
Term
4. term
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-05-28
Pages
65
Abstract
Recent Chinese activity in Greenland, especially in mining, has raised questions and concerns among other countries and observers. This thesis examines China’s main interests behind investments in Greenland’s mining sector. It considers two viewpoints: the Chinese central government and three Chinese companies active in Greenland. Two theories guide the analysis. Waltz’s Neorealism, which sees states seeking security and influence in a competitive international system, is used to interpret the government’s interests in Greenland. Mertha’s Fragmented Authoritarianism, which describes how policy in China is shaped by multiple state actors with partly competing agendas, is used to understand how both the state and the companies may pursue different or overlapping policies. The thesis follows a deductive approach, starting from theory and testing expectations with both qualitative and quantitative data. It compares three cases: Kvanefjeld, Isua, and Citronen Fjord. For each site, it assesses the importance of the extracted minerals to China and the size of the deposits. By bringing together findings from the state and corporate perspectives, the study evaluates whether their motivations point toward the same objectives or diverge, and to what extent.
Kinesiske aktiviteter i Grønland – især inden for minedrift – har i de seneste år vakt spørgsmål og bekymring blandt andre lande og observatører. Dette speciale undersøger, hvilke hovedinteresser Kina har bag investeringerne i Grønlands minesektor. Analysen ser fra to vinkler: den kinesiske centralregering og tre kinesiske virksomheder, der er aktive i Grønland. To teorier bruges som ramme. Waltz’ neorealisme, som ser stater søge sikkerhed og indflydelse i et konkurrerende internationalt system, anvendes til at fortolke regeringens interesser i Grønland. Merthas fragmenterede autoritarisme, der beskriver hvordan politik i Kina formes af flere statslige aktører med delvist modstridende dagsordener, bruges til at forstå, hvordan både staten og virksomhederne kan forfølge forskellige eller overlappende politikker. Specialet følger en deduktiv tilgang, der tager udgangspunkt i teorier og afprøver forventninger med både kvalitative og kvantitative data. Tre cases sammenlignes: Kvanefjeld, Isua og Citronen Fjord. For hvert sted vurderes betydningen af de udvundne mineraler for Kina og størrelsen af de lokale forekomster. Ved at sammenholde resultaterne fra statens og virksomhedernes perspektiver vurderer studiet, om deres motivationer peger mod de samme mål eller afviger – og i hvilket omfang.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords
Greenland ; China ; Mineral Sector ; Mining ; Chinese Companies ; Polar Silk Road ; SOEs