China’s foreign minister Wang Yi is due in Denmark this week as part of a July 2 to July 8 tour of Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. Beijing announced the trip on June 30 and said Wang would hold talks with the foreign ministers of all four countries. It also described the Denmark stop as the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Denmark in 15 years.
Greenland is not on Wang’s published Nordic itinerary. So after the Copenhagen meeting, the question is: will Beijing repeat, revise or drop the Greenland language it used after Wang’s May 2025 meeting with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen?
The Line to Compare
On May 19, 2025, Rasmussen traveled to Beijing to mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between Denmark and China. In China’s own Ministry of Foreign Affairs readout, Wang said China “fully respects Denmark’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on the issue of Greenland.” In the same passage, China expressed hope that Denmark would continue to support China’s position on matters concerning China’s own sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The same Chinese readout then recorded Rasmussen as saying that Denmark’s government and parliament remained firmly committed to the one China policy.
Greenland and China’s own sovereignty claims were placed next to each other. Beijing offered language Copenhagen wanted to hear on Greenland. Copenhagen, at least as presented in China’s account, offered language Beijing wanted to hear on one China.
Why This Visit Is a Real Test
Much has changed since the May 2025 Beijing meeting.
Denmark’s political setting has changed. Since Wang and Rasmussen last met in Beijing, Denmark has held a general election, formed a new government and returned Rasmussen to the foreign ministry. That gives this week’s Copenhagen meeting an unusual mix of continuity and change: the same two foreign ministers, but a different Danish governing landscape around them.
Greenland’s strategic resource story has moved from a specialist mining and energy beat into the center of Western security and supply chain politics.
Greenland Energy Company has moved onto Nasdaq under the GLND ticker and is pursuing oil exploration in East Greenland’s Jameson Land Basin. Critical Metals Corp has acquired the Ocean Endeavour to support workforce accommodation and transport for the Tanbreez rare earth project near Qaqortoq. Naalakkersuisut has rejected Energy Transition Minerals’ request to extend the Kuannersuit exploration license, keeping one of Greenland’s most contested rare earth and uranium disputes firmly in the political spotlight.
China says Wang will discuss bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest with each Nordic foreign minister.
Danish press reports say the Copenhagen leg includes a formal meeting, a working dinner and a personal audience with King Frederik X.
Rasmussen has presented the meeting as necessary diplomacy, saying Denmark cannot avoid dealing with China politically or economically, while also expecting an open discussion of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The other Nordic governments have framed their own meetings in similar terms. Sweden says its meeting will focus on bilateral issues and EU China trade relations. Finland says its meeting will cover bilateral relations, EU China relations, Ukraine, European security and the Middle East. Norway has framed its meeting around bilateral issues, international affairs and a 2024 green transition dialogue between Norway and China.
This piece will be updated once the Copenhagen statements are published.
GreenlandEnergy.com provides independent analysis of Greenland’s energy landscape, critical minerals development, and Arctic geopolitics. For corrections or feedback: press@greenlandenergy.com
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