Is China a Security Threat?: An Analysis of Potential Chinese Investments in the Canadian North

Keywords: Polar Silk Road, Canadian infrastructure development, Chinese infrastructure investment, security, Arctic geopolitics
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 8

Abstract

China’s plan to build a “Polar Silk Road” (PSR) was launched in 2018 and entails the development of major shipping routes throughout the Arctic. This plan is closely observed by Canadian authorities through the lens of its potential impact on Canada’s North and Arctic. As a result, the Canadian media frequently portrays China’s Arctic initiatives as an encroachment on Canada’s territorial jurisdiction while emphasizing China’s role as an outsider in the Arctic context. In addition, concerns are raised about the impact of Chinese potential infrastructure investment on Indigenous communities in the Canadian North. We investigate the Canadian perception towards China and Chinese investments through a content analysis of Canadian national, regional and municipal newspapers published between 2018 and 2021. We argue that the Canadian media significantly contributes to the threat perception of China in Canada. The following research questions are answered: 1) How does the Canadian media contribute to the perception of China and Chinese investments in the Canadian North as a security threat? 2) What are key Canadian concerns towards Chinese investment in terms of security and related environmental, economic and Indigenous concerns? We adopt realist constructivist and neoliberal institutional lenses that help explain the ongoing threat perception of China as conveyed in the Canadian media and offer policy recommendations for the future of a potential Sino-Canadian relationship in the context of northern Canadian infrastructure development.