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China has launched its annual Arctic summer expedition with four major research vessels heading north, expanding a polar presence that has increasingly drawn the attention of U.S. lawmakers and military planners following last year's unprecedented Chinese operations near Alaska.
The Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources said icebreakers Xue Long (Snow Dragon) and Xue Long 2, together with the new polar research vessel Jidi, departed China on Friday to begin the country's 16th Arctic scientific expedition, which is expected to continue until October. Deep-sea research ship Tan Suo San Hao is also expected to join the expedition.
The mission will focus on responding to climate change, marine ecosystems, atmospheric and oceanographic observations, sea ice processes, environmental monitoring and surveys supporting sustainable Arctic development, according to state media.
The deployment comes as China's steadily expanding Arctic footprint has become an increasing strategic concern for Washington, with U.S. officials viewing Beijing's scientific activities as having potential dual-use applications alongside research.
The expedition follows the vessels' return earlier this year from China's Antarctic research campaign. Before redeployment north, both Xue Long and Xue Long 2 underwent maintenance and servicing at Chinese shipyards. Xue Long 2 recently completed maintenance Jiangnan Shipyard near Shanghai before returning to service.
Xue Long, Xue Long 2 and Jidi departing for China's 16th Arctic expedition. (Source: MagicPort Maritime Intelligence)
China dramatically expanded its Arctic presence last summer by dispatching five research vessels – including several icebreakers – simultaneously into Arctic waters, the country's largest polar deployment to date. The flotilla included Xue Long 2, Jidi, Tan Suo San Hao, Shen Hai Yi Hao, and Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di, operating across the Bering Sea, Bering Strait and waters north of Alaska.
The ships were repeatedly shadowed by U.S. Coast Guard cutters and maritime patrol aircraft as they conducted scientific operations near Alaska's extended continental shelf, underscoring growing competition in the increasingly accessible Arctic. U.S. officials stressed that while freedom of navigation permits transit through international waters, scientific research within the U.S. extended continental shelf requires American consent.
Those operations have prompted calls in Congress for tighter oversight. Last month, U.S. senators introduced legislation seeking to require foreign government research vessels, including Chinese ships, to obtain U.S. authorization before conducting marine scientific research in or near the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and extended continental shelf, arguing existing legal authorities leave potential gaps that competitors could exploit.
China describes itself as a "near-Arctic state" and has steadily increased investment in polar research, shipping and infrastructure over the past decade despite having no Arctic coastline. Beijing argues its scientific work contributes to understanding climate change and improving knowledge of the rapidly warming region.
The vessels participating in this year's expedition represent the core of China's expanding polar fleet.
The Xue Long, originally built in Ukraine in 1993 as an Arctic cargo vessel before conversion into a research icebreaker, measures roughly 167 meters and has served as China's principal polar research platform for nearly three decades.
Its successor, the 122.5-meter Xue Long 2, entered service in 2019 as China's first domestically built polar icebreaker. The approximately 14,000-ton vessel is built to Polar Class 3 standards.
Joining them are the newer Jidi, an ice-class polar research vessel supporting multidisciplinary Arctic surveys, and Tan Suo San Hao, China's latest polar-capable deep-sea research ship built to Polar Class 4 standards and equipped to support both ice operations and advanced oceanographic research.
Last summer China conducted more than forty manned submersible dives in the Arctic.
