China Opens Arctic Route to Europe: 18-Day Freight

China’s official announcement today that a container ship departed from Ningbo Zhoushan Port on the 22nd and sailed to the Port of Felixtto in the United Kingdom via the Arctic Channel. It represents the world’s first China-Europe Arctic Cargo Express route, which is about 18 days a day, 22 days faster than the traditional route. It is claimed to be a strong support for Chinese companies to cope with global trade uncertainty.

The WeChat official account of the Ningbo Municipal Government Information Office of Zhejiang Province, China announced on the 22nd that this also made China and Russia the first country to open an Arctic freight shipping route in the world. Due to the intensification of global warming and geopolitical risks, the achievability and continuous development of Arctic commercial routes have attracted attention.

Ningbo official said that the launch of “China-Europe Arctic Express” is a vivid manifestation of the implementation of the “Ice Silk Road” for the first time proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in July 2017, and is an important practice for the extension of the results of the Arctic cooperation between China and various parties to the global logistics system. The 2018 white paper “China’s Arctic Policy” was released, clearly pointing out that China is willing to rely on the development and utilization of the Arctic waterway to jointly build the “Ice Silk Road” with all parties.

Marine Traffic, a ship tracking website, shows that the Chinese Istanbul Bridge container ship departed from Ningbo Zhoushan Port at around 5 am this morning and was heading north in the East China Sea. It arrived at Felixstowe, England at 10 pm on October 11 local time.

“China-Europe Arctic Express” takes the Northeastern Arctic Passage (NSR) and goes directly to Europe via the Bering Strait. It has a one-way journey of about 18 days, which is 22 days shorter than traditional routes and reduces carbon emissions by about 50%. This is another new record for the China-Europe Express timeliness after Ningbo Zhoushan Port opened to Wilhelmshaven, Germany at the end of 2024.

The photo attached to the press release shows that it takes at least 25 days to transport cargo to Europe via the “China-Europe Express”; at least 40 days to take the Suez route; and at least 50 days to take the Cape of Hope route.

Ningbo Zhoushan Port is the largest port in the world’s cargo throughput. Ningbo official said that the launch of China-Europe Arctic Express not only means that Ningbo Zhoushan Port will extend its route to the Arctic Ocean for the first time, filling the “last puzzle” of its global route network, but also providing strong support for Chinese companies to cope with global trade uncertainty and expand new international logistics channels.

Ningbo officially stated that China Europe Arctic Express specializes in serving cross-border e-commerce and high-value-added goods. At present, the cabin of the first flight has been ordered. In addition to various e-commerce products with timeliness requirements, the cargo carried also includes battery products with safety requirements, high-value-added energy storage cabinet products, etc.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian responded to relevant questions from Russian media at a regular press conference on the 19th that China is an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs and has always participated in Arctic affairs in accordance with the basic principles of “respect, cooperation, win-win and sustainable”, strengthen cooperation with all parties, maintain peace and stability in the Arctic, and promote sustainable development in the Arctic.

Lin Jian also said that in recent years, the international community has paid more attention to the prospects for the use of Arctic waterways, and Arctic waterways have the potential to become an important route for international trade. China is willing to work with countries along the Arctic Ocean coast, including Russia, and other interested countries, to strengthen international cooperation in the construction and operation of Arctic waterway infrastructure, and jointly promote the development, utilization and environmental protection of Arctic waterways.

(First picture source: General Office of Ningbo Municipal People’s Government)