China to build research center for Arctic region(2)

"The key of the program is to gather scholars and professionals, and find a research subject they and we are both interested in," he added.

China is a latecomer to Arctic research, and its studies are mainly focused on natural science topics such as the shrinking of sea ice as well as climate and ecological change.

But in recent years, scientists have found that China is closely linked to climate change in the Arctic — for instance, when sea ice in the Arctic melted to a record low of 3.41 million square km last summer, the biggest snowstorm in 50 years hit Northeast China's Heilongjiang province in the spring.

To a certain extent, extreme weather in China can be predicted by calculating the shrinking size of sea ice in the Arctic, said Zhang Xia , a research fellow at the Polar Research Institute of China.

In mid-May, the Arctic Council accepted China as an observer, along with India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore.

Kim Holmen, international director of the Norwegian Polar Institute, said on Wednesday that Chinese scientists are welcome to join their global counterparts to study the Arctic and help tackle the problems the region faces.

"Understanding the Arctic is incredibly difficult. We need all the talented people we can get to work with Arctic problems," he said.

Holmen also confirmed the connection between the climate in Asia and developments in the Arctic. "The climate system is connected throughout the globe so it is important for China to know and understand what is happening in the Arctic and how it influences China directly."