The Arctic Council accepted China as an observer, along with India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, on Wednesday.

The new observers, as well as the region's rising global profile, have added to the importance of this year's meeting of the council.

As a non-Arctic rim country, China maintains that Arctic-related issues are not only regional matters, they are also cross-regional matters, as they involve global issues such as climate change and the security of international shipping.