Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

At the invitation of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, China's Minister of Transport Liu Wei attended the first meeting of the subcommittee on Arctic shipping routes cooperation under the committee for regular meetings between Chinese and Russian heads of government, where he held talks with the subcommittee's Russian Chairman, Alexey Likhachev, and conducted working visit, on Sunday and Monday, according to China's Ministry of Transport's official WeChat account on Tuesday.

The first meeting of the subcommittee on Arctic shipping routes was held in Saint Petersburg on Monday. Liu pointed out that the subcommittee on Arctic shipping routes is a new working mechanism established under the committee for regular meetings between Chinese and Russian heads of government. It is an important platform for promoting the cooperation and development of Arctic shipping routes and an important channel for sharing experiences and seeking mutual development.

During this meeting, the two sides reached a series of important consensus on the mechanism, structure of the subcommittee and cooperation objectives, achieving fruitful results. China is willing to work with Russia to fully utilize the subcommittee's role, enhance the competitiveness of Arctic shipping, jointly ensure Arctic navigation safety, and promote new progress in polar shipbuilding, implementing the consensus of the two countries' leaders through concrete actions.

Alexey Likhachev, who is also director general of the Rosatom, noted that the establishment of the subcommittee on Arctic shipping routes is of historical significance, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and China. Rosatom is willing to deepen cooperation with the Chinese Ministry of Transport in various fields such as Arctic shipping, safety, and polar shipbuilding technology, and actively promote China-Russia Arctic shipping routes cooperation to new highs.

The meeting heard reports from three working groups under the subcommittee: shipping development, navigation safety, and polar ship technology and construction. It also approved the regulations for the subcommittee on Arctic shipping routes, signed the meeting minutes, and clarified the relevant consensuses and key tasks for 2025.