China’s geopolitical rivalry with the West is expanding into new frontiers – including the polar regions, outer space, cyberspace and the deep sea – as Beijing unveils a flurry of scientific milestones and state-driven ambitions that analysts say are challenging traditional Western dominance across these critical domains.
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On Monday, China announced that its independently designed and built polar research vessel – the world’s first manned deep-sea-operations depot ship with icebreaking capabilities – and its crewed submersible had successfully conducted a scientific expedition performing crewed dives in the Arctic Ocean.
The mission by the Tan Suo San Hao (Explorer Three) made China the only nation capable of carrying out continuous manned deep-sea dives in the dense Arctic sea ice zone, according to People’s Daily, with the state mouthpiece adding that the accomplishment “further cements its position as a global leader in manned deep-sea technology”.
The report on Monday highlighted that the expedition dived to a maximum depth of 5,277 metres (17,313 feet) in the central Arctic Basin, where sea ice coverage exceeded 80 per cent. And in the context of China’s 14th five-year plan (2021-2025), the mission was said to be part of a key project focused on deep-sea and polar technologies
The same day, People’s Daily revealed that China now holds more than half of all effective global patents in marine equipment manufacturing, surpassing South Korea, the United States and Japan.
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A day earlier, it ran an editorial about the country’s BeiDou satellite navigation system – an alternative to the US-run Global Positioning System (GPS) – that is set to launch next-generation satellites under the upcoming 15th five-year plan, promising real-time positioning accuracy ranging from metres to decimetres.