Asked to comment on a media report of a cargo ship scheduled to depart from Ningbo port on Saturday to test a new shipping route via the Northern Sea Route, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday that China stands ready to work with Russia and other Arctic states as well as interested countries to strengthen international cooperation on the building and operation of basic infrastructure in the Arctic shipping routes.

At a regular press briefing on Friday, a reporter noted the media report and asked the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s comments on the role of the Northern Sea Route for China, and about how China and Russia will cooperate in this area.

In response, Lin Jian, the ministry spokesperson, said that as an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs, China always follows the basic principles of respect, cooperation, mutual benefit and sustainability in engaging in Arctic affairs and enhancing cooperation with various parties, and is committed to promoting peace, stability and sustainable development of the Arctic.

«In recent years, the Arctic shipping routes have increasingly come under the spotlight in the international community and have the potential to become the important routes in international trade,» Lin said.

The spokesperson further stated that China stands ready to work with Russia and other Arctic states as well as interested countries jointly advance the development and exploration of the routes and protect the environment there.

China is sending the Istanbul Bridge container ship on an 18-day trip from Ningbo-Zhoushan port — the world’s largest — to Felixstowe in the UK on September 20 accompanied by ice breakers, POLITICO reported on Thursday.

The goal is not a one-off voyage — that’s been done before — but to establish a regular service via Russia’s Northern Sea Route linking multiple ports in Asia and Europe, according to the POLITICO report.