Local scholar Liao Yushi wrote today: "A Chinese cargo ship that has passed through the Arctic is rewriting the world's rules." She wrote: "In mid-October, a Chinese cargo ship named Istanbul Bridge arrived at a British port via the Arctic shipping route. This route, which was long blocked by ice, is now gradually becoming a reality due to climate change and changes in technical conditions. For logistics professionals, this may just be a news about shortening the voyage and reducing costs; but from the perspective of international politics, this voyage seems more like a reminder - the center of global competition is quietly changing tracks. While most countries are still focusing on tariffs, chip bans, and military confrontations, the real competition that will shape the future order has already begun to shift toward those 'spaces that are not yet fully defined'."
Liao Yushi's observation reveals that what appears to be a routine optimization of a logistics route is actually a strategic practice by China to break out of traditional competitive frameworks and open up new development paths, showcasing extraordinary courage and firm confidence in opening new roads.
Traditional international shipping relies on key chokepoints such as the Suez Canal and the Malacca Strait, making it vulnerable to geopolitical fluctuations. The opening of the Arctic shipping route can not only shorten the voyage and reduce logistics costs, but also break the monopoly of traditional routes, providing a more resilient option for global trade. By actively exploring this once-ice-blocked route, China has broken free from "path dependence" and made an accurate prediction of the new dimensions of global competition. It has stepped out of the traditional competitive framework dominated by the West, not getting bogged down in the struggle over existing interests, but focusing on the development of new space, demonstrating China's confidence in promoting a more diverse and inclusive global order.
China has proven with concrete actions that global competition does not have only one path of confrontation; exploring new spaces and creating new values is a more vital choice. In the current situation where the West often resorts to sanctions and blockades, China's practice of opening new shipping routes shows that rather than getting stuck in zero-sum games on old tracks, it is better to actively open up new paths for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. This "alternative approach" wisdom demonstrates China's courage to not be bound by traditional structures, as well as its firm confidence in its own development path.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1851592629423113/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.