Fu Ying urges Arctic forum to focus on climate change and research

Fu Ying, a former Chinese deputy foreign minister, led a Chinese delegation to the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The meeting ran from October 8 to 10, 2026, and brought together more than 2,500 people from over 70 countries and regions.

At a discussion about how to understand China, Fu spoke with the forum’s chair, former Icelandic president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson.

She said melting sea ice, shrinking ice sheets and rising temperatures are real challenges facing the Arctic.

Fu urged countries to put more effort into research and environmental protection, saying that debates about imagined security threats and geopolitics take time and resources away from those priorities.

She also pointed to a joint statement by Chinese and Icelandic leaders the previous year that called for stronger cooperation on climate change and green energy.

The meeting is an annual international forum for discussion of Arctic issues; no further steps were specified.