Can China’s new Arctic Sea route to Europe replace Middle East chokepoints?

China has announced a new shipping route through the Arctic Ocean, which could ease the way for global trade amid the Middle East crisis that has paralysed critical waterways, including the Bab al-Mandeb on the edge of the Red Sea.

Shipping companies have become increasingly interested in alternative trade routes through the Arctic in recent years as conflicts, such as the US war on Iran, restri...