For years, Beijing has struggled to gain a foothold in Greenland, in part because of US and Danish unity. Trump’s fraying of that alliance could create the opening it needs
According to Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, China and Russia must be having a “field day” about Donald Trump’s plans for Greenland, which Kallas says will divide Nato.
But according to Trump, his plans are motivated by a desire to counter the very threat that Kallas identified. “World peace is at stake! China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
Viewed from Beijing, Trump’s moves on Greenland represent further proof that the US-led world order is in turmoil, a trend that creates a significant opportunity for China. “Most Chinese people view this as yet another manifestation of Trump’s bullying, hegemonic and domineering behaviour,” says Wang Wen, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing. But, Wang adds: “Trump’s occupation of Greenland would signify Nato’s demise, a prospect that would greatly please Chinese people.”
For years, there has been a growing drumbeat in US foreign policy circles raising the alarm about China’s – and Russia’s – increased presence in the Arctic region. In 2019, the then secretary of state Mike Pompeo said that Beijing’s influence risked creating a “new South China Sea” around the north pole as he pledged to beef up the US’s presence there.
