Trump’s Greenland gambit puts China on edge after Venezuela operation

U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed menace to instrumentality power of Greenland has raised alarm successful Beijing, pursuing Washington's subject cognition that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump, who has agelong advocated U.S. power implicit the self-governing Danish territory, repeatedly emphasized connected Sunday that Greenland is strategically important.

"We request Greenland from a nationalist information situation. It's truthful strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships each implicit the place," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

In an email to Chinese authorities media Xinhua News Agency, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump views acquiring Greenland arsenic a nationalist information precedence to deter rivals successful the Arctic. She added that his squad is weighing a scope of options — including the anticipation of using military force.

Chinese authorities person pushed back. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian criticized Washington for "using the alleged 'China threat' arsenic a pretext for itself to question selfish gains."

China described itself arsenic a "near-Arctic state" successful its 2018 authoritative Arctic Policy, asserting its close to usage resources and make shipping routes successful the Arctic.

State-linked Chinese firms person besides invested heavy successful Arctic vigor projects and developed maritime routes that could trim shipping times betwixt Asia and Europe.

"China would propulsion backmost hard against immoderate U.S. determination to instrumentality power of Greenland, fixed Beijing's commercialized interests connected the land — from assets exploration to the information of Arctic shipping routes," said Xinbo Wu, manager at the Center for American Studies astatine Shanghai-based Fudan University.

The U.S. Defense Department has identified China and Russia arsenic cardinal competitors successful the region, pointing to their expanded subject capabilities and associated naval patrols arsenic risks to nationalist security.

Beijing could question to rise costs for Washington done multilateral diplomacy and whitethorn deepen subject practice with Russia successful the Arctic portion to deter the U.S., Wu said.

"We are truly getting into uncharted territory and we person to beryllium highly careful," said Henry Wang, laminitis and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a think-tank that often aligns with Beijing's thinking.

"The planetary assemblage has to enactment unneurotic present and astir apt halt this benignant of unilateral approach."

Beijing's main interests successful Greenland reflector those of the U.S.: rare earths, uranium and zinc, said Dan Wang, China manager astatine Eurasia Group.

Greenland, a immense and sparsely populated autonomous Danish territory, hosts respective ample rare-earth constituent deposits, with immoderate discovered mines ranking among the world's largest. These minerals are important for high-tech industries, from electrical vehicles to defence equipment.

Besides the U.S. and China, the European Union has besides tried to unafraid entree to these captious mineral supplies.

Chinese investors person grown "much much cautious" astir Greenland successful caller years amid rising geopolitical uncertainty, said Patrik Andersson, an expert astatine the Swedish National China Center astatine the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

Denmark retains the ineligible authorization to artifact overseas investments connected nationalist information grounds.

In 2016, a Hong Kong-linked steadfast attempted to get a erstwhile Danish naval basal and related larboard facilities, prompting Copenhagen to artifact the sale. A Chinese state-owned steadfast besides withdrew its bid for an airdrome operation declaration worthy 3.6 cardinal Danish kroner ($563 million) successful 2019 aft Greenland chose Denmark implicit Beijing to concern the project.

Andersson noted that successful immoderate cases, Chinese involvement successful Greenland's minerals appeared to person already declined earlier the caller emergence successful geopolitical risk, successful portion owed to the precocious costs of operating successful Greenland.

"From a commercialized standpoint, Chinese investors whitethorn spot much charismatic opportunities elsewhere," helium added.

Some Chinese-backed projects successful Greenland person besides stalled implicit biology concerns.

Chinese state-affiliated institution Shenghe Resources acquired a involvement successful the Kvanefjeld task successful southern Greenland successful 2016. The project, which was acceptable to go 1 of the world's largest rare-earth and uranium mines, was halted aft Greenland reinstated a ban connected uranium mining successful 2021.

While immoderate analysts person estimated Chinese investments successful the Arctic astatine implicit $90 cardinal and described them arsenic "unconstrained," Harvard University's Kennedy School said the figures are "highly exaggerated" due to the fact that they included failed investments and unbuilt projects.

According to Harvard's estimates successful June 2025, astir of the mineral, lipid and state assets projects successful Greenland with Chinese backing had been paused oregon canceled.

Despite those setbacks, Greenland opened its practice bureau successful Beijing successful 2023 arsenic the Arctic state sought to deepen ties with Beijing.

China has eyes connected caller shipping routes opening up arsenic melting crystal opens shorter paths betwixt Asia and Europe. China's exports to the European Union, its second-largest trading bloc, grew 8.1% year-on-year successful the archetypal eleven months of 2025.

Beijing formally introduced the "Polar Silk Road" successful its 2018 Arctic argumentation achromatic insubstantial and launched its first Arctic shipping way to Europe successful September 2025, cutting transit times to astir 20 days, astir fractional the clip needed for a travel through the Suez Canal.

The alternate oversea way presents not lone "immense economical opportunities" for Beijing done faster commercialized and entree to untapped earthy resources, but besides a "strategic situation to the United States' dominance of planetary oversea lanes," said Zoha Fatima, a researcher focused connected Arctic governance and geopolitics.

China has besides expanded Arctic probe efforts implicit the years, supporting discoveries related to oversea crystal composition, abstraction upwind and marine life.

Building connected existing projects successful Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland, China has besides planned a research and outer crushed presumption successful Greenland.

These facilities are important for China's Beidou navigation outer system, developed arsenic an alternate to the U.S.'s GPS system.

China's polar probe programs person raised information concerns successful the Arctic. In 2022, the Biden medication asserted that China utilized its technological engagements to behaviour "dual-use probe with quality oregon subject applications."

"If Trump were to instrumentality Greenland, Beijing would framework this arsenic U.S. unilateralism and North Atlantic militarization, portion stressing respect for Danish-Greenlandic autonomy and UN-based rules," said Eurasia's Wang.

— CNBC's Evelyn Cheng, Emily Tan contributed to this story.