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Home Posts Why Trump wants to freeze china out of Greenland

Why Trump wants to freeze china out of Greenland
Paul Weisko
15 January, 2025

President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to annex Greenland may seem unconventional and harmful to Greenland’s people. Still, it aligns with U.S. national security priorities in the face of growing competition with China. While China is geographically distant from Greenland, it has declared itself a “Near-Arctic Power” and has significantly increased its involvement in Arctic affairs. This involvement spans scientific expeditions, investments in strategic Arctic locations, and joint military exercises with Russia, aiming to boost China’s global influence and compete with the United States in this increasingly contested region. Trump’s proposed annexation of Greenland reflects a strategic attempt to remove a critical piece of the Arctic from U.S. security concerns.

China’s interest in Greenland is evident in its investments in several mines and its interest in Greenland's vast mineral resources, including rare earth elements. These elements are vital for modern electronics and global supply chains, a sector heavily dominated by China. Rare earths have become a strategic focus for U.S. policymakers, given Beijing's history of leveraging its near monopoly on their export to exert pressure in geopolitical disputes. Greenland's untapped reserves of rare earths could potentially reduce Western dependency on China and mitigate the risk of a Chinese embargo, making the island a significant strategic asset.
Greenland’s mineral wealth extends beyond rare earth elements to include uranium and other critical resources. However, a uranium mining and fossil fuel extraction moratorium imposed by Greenland’s government, heavily influenced by an environmentally focused Indigenous party, has kept these resources in the ground. While the U.S. and Denmark successfully pressured Greenland to reject Chinese extraction proposals, the moratorium also prevented the West from accessing these resources. Securing Greenland could ensure the United States and its allies gain access to these critical materials while safeguarding them from Chinese influence.

Geopolitically, Greenland sits at a crucial chokepoint for naval and submarine traffic in the North Atlantic. Control over Greenland would bolster U.S. Arctic defense capabilities, particularly in monitoring and countering potential Chinese or Russian military activity in the region. China’s growing Arctic ambitions, combined with its military partnership with Russia, amplify the strategic importance of Greenland to the United States. Therefore, while a takeover of a country dependent on the Danish welfare state would be disastrous for the Greenlandic people, Trump is not wrong when he says that annexing Greenland could help U.S. national security

Topics: Israel-China Policy Center - The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation, Israel-United States Relations
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      • Israel and the Global Powers
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