Cooperation on Northern Sea Route tops Russia-China business agenda - Rosatom CEO
ST. PETERSBURG. Nov 18 (Interfax) - Nearly all countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia are showing interest in the Northern Sea Route, and this route is also attractive for Middle Eastern countries, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev said.
"But our closest neighbors are showing the most fundamental interest. [...] It can be said that following the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in September and after the prime ministers' meeting, cooperation on the Northern Sea Route topped the Russian-Chinese business agenda. And we will expand this cooperation. Negotiations are also underway with India, Vietnam is showing a keen interest, and Indonesia is showing a great interest," Likhachev told reporters following the keel-laying ceremony of the Stalingrad universal nuclear icebreaker of Project 22220, which took place at the Baltic Shipyard on Tuesday.
Those countries that are "on the other side of the ribbon" and take unfriendly steps towards Russia are also showing interest in the Northern Sea Route, he said.
"They make it clear in every possible way that they are willing to find an opportunity for cooperation. We will not rush here, we will look at the overall development of the situation, whether we will be able to conduct such work with them, this is a government decision. But we can say today that we have more than enough interest from friendly countries for decades to developing both the Russian Northern Sea Route and the global transport route," Likhachev added.
He also said that it is time to move "from the terms and parameters of the Northern Sea Route development to the development in terms of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor."
"This is the main goal for us for the coming decades, but we need to take our time towards it. And taking our time means building new icebreakers, developing the fields, and exporting cargo to our, primarily, friendly countries, to the countries in East and Southeast Asia. And here everything is going as planned," Likhachev said.
He also said he is hoping for a multiple increase in the number of transit voyages along the Northern Sea Route. Russia's partners are showing a keen interest in this opportunity, he said. Along with China, other countries in the Asian region have also mulled over such voyages.
Rosatom said earlier that the first transit voyage from China to Europe via the Northern Sea Route has been completed, with the trans-Arctic route having halved cargo delivery time compared to traditional routes.
"On October 13, 2025, the first-ever container transit from China to Europe via the Northern Sea Route arrived at the UK port of Felixstowe, having departed from Ningbo, China, on September 23," Rosatom said.
The vessel, carrying nearly 25,000 tonnes of cargo containers, entered the Northern Sea Route on October 1. The container ship will head to other European ports after unloading at Felixstowe. The journey through the Russian Arctic took 20 days, nearly half the time as using traditional southern routes, Rosatom said.
In October, Russia and China approved a plan of measures for further developing transportation along the Northern Sea Route. The document was approved following the second meeting of the sub-commission on the Northern Sea Route of the Russian-Chinese commission for preparing regular meetings of heads of government, held in Harbin.
"The development and approval of the roadmap are aimed at forming a sustainable transport corridor. The cooperation involves the introduction of modern logistical and technological solutions to improve the efficiency of transportation and the development of capital projects," Rosatom said then.
In August 2024, Russia and China signed a protocol on establishing a sub-commission for cooperation on the Northern Sea Route.
