Topical issues in Arctic studies: a perspective from China

The article examines promising areas of China’s research on the Arctic issues. The aim is to identify current areas of Arctic research in China based on content analysis via the CiteSpace software, and to determine the directions of Russian-Chinese cooperation in this area. Through the analysis of available publications in highly ranked Chinese journals, three most important research areas of China as a near-Arctic state have been identified, which cover the problems of climate change, development of the Arctic sea route, management of the Arctic and regional cooperation. The issues of maritime navigation in the Arctic are associated with the development of Russian-Chinese cooperation and the revival of China’s Northeast region. In the future, the focus of Arctic research in China is predicted to shift towards the economic sphere.