On January 26, the release conference for the Blue Book of Arctic Region: Report on Arctic Region Development (2024-2025) and the seminar on “Arctic Governance amid Great Changes” were held in Qingdao. This volume is the eleventh in the annual report series edited by Professor Liu Huirong since 2014. Bringing together interdisciplinary research efforts, this research achievement combines academic depth with policy relevance. Focusing on annual hot issues in the Arctic, as well as issues related to Arctic security and policy development, the volume contributes intellectual support to a better understanding, protection, and utilization of the polar regions.
Wu Leizhao, Director of the General Affairs Division of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration of the State Oceanic Administration of China, delivered remarks at the conference. He noted that the consecutive publication of the Blue Book for eleven years demonstrates the academic commitment and sense of responsibility of the Polar Governance Team of Ocean University of China (OUC). It has provided valuable consulting support for the country’s polar administrative authorities and made outstanding contributions to advancing polar research and raising public awareness of the polar regions. He expressed the hope that the authors of the Blue Book and the participating experts would continue to deepen Arctic studies and contribute more professional expertise and disciplinary strength to the high-quality development of China’s polar undertakings. On behalf of the university, Professor Dong Yue, Director of the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences, congratulated the publication of the Blue Book. He expressed the hope that the release conference would serve as an opportunity for exchanges and discussion, helping participants grasp new developments in Arctic governance, expand research perspectives, and generate new ideas, viewpoints, and approaches. Professor Liu Huirong, editor-in-chief of the volume, introduced its main contents, research highlights, and recent progress in Arctic-related studies.
In the discussion session on “Arctic Governance amid Great Changes”, Research Fellow Deng Beixi, Director of the Division of Polar Policy Studies of the Polar Research Institute of China, and Research Fellow Xu Qingchao, a “Wutong Young Professor” at Beijing Language and Culture University, delivered keynote speeches on the latest hot topics and frontier issues in Arctic governance. Authors of the Blue Book from South China Agricultural University, OUC, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, and other institutions also shared their latest findings and perspectives on Arctic studies.
China is an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs and actively contributes wisdom and strength to Arctic governance. This volume of the Blue Book continued the format of previous development reports, taking major Arctic events and hot issues in 2024 and 2025 as its research focus. The general report provides a comprehensive review and analysis of the progress in and challenges to the governance of the global commons in the Arctic region from 2024 to 2025. The themed reports are organized into three sections, namely, Arctic Governance, Dynamics in Arctic Security, and Arctic Cooperation and Development, with a total of 10 articles.
As a signature publication of the Polar Research Center of OUC, the Blue Book of Arctic Region: Report on Arctic Region Development has become a distinctive annual series on Arctic affairs in Chinese academia, with broad influence at home and abroad. It has been reported on and cited many times by central media outlets, the U.S. Library of Congress, and other foreign media and think tanks. The sustained high-quality publication of the series highlights the Polar Research Center of OUC’s long-standing commitment to polar governance studies and its fruitful research achievements in this field.
