''Snubbed by Norway, China looks elsewhere for support in Arctic''

"China seeks to gain permanent observer status on the Arctic Council, which Canada will begin chairing next year.

There are a number of other countries on the Arctic Council, but all of them are European; none from the Far East have been admitted. Currently, Denmark supports China's bid. This is not surprising given the recent increase in trade between the two countries and China's high hopes for investing in Greenland's minerals."

from alaska dispatch....