MOSCOW, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Scientists from Russia and China are jointly studying climate change and permafrost in the Arctic region and expect to expand cooperation in the future, said a Russian expert.
Research institutions of the two countries have been working together on Arctic climate and permafrost issues for years, said Trofim Maksimov, acting deputy director general for science and international projects at the Yakut Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a recent interview with Xinhua.
Over the past two decades, China's scientific sector has achieved remarkable growth, with impressive advances seen in research infrastructure, Maksimov said, adding that long-term efforts and achievements by Russian scientists in Arctic climate studies have attracted growing attention from Chinese research institutions.
He noted that the Yakut Scientific Center launched cooperation in 2024 with the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the two sides are conducting joint carbon budget modeling in the basins of the Lena River and the Amur River, known as Heilongjiang River in China.
Both China and Russia have set goals to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, and the cooperation is expected to contribute positively to their shared climate objectives, Maksimov said.
He added that researchers from the two countries have also launched a joint project to monitor large cross-sections of permafrost from China to the Arctic Ocean. Within the framework of the project, they plan to expand integrated monitoring networks covering climate, ecology, biodiversity, greenhouse gases and pollutants, and jointly establish Arctic climate change observation stations.
Maksimov said that China and Russia share deep concerns over the unprecedented degradation of permafrost and its impact on regional and broader Eurasian natural environments and urban ecosystems.
"This field urgently requires interdisciplinary research, especially on the interaction between nature and society," he said. "We and our Chinese colleagues have identified new directions for cooperation and drawn up a blueprint for exploring new knowledge, ideas and discoveries together." ■
