Donald Trump’s imperialist designs on Greenland, Canada and Panama often sound like the ramblings of a chaos agent who views geopolitics and global trade like a real estate shark chasing new leads.

Strategically positioned, Greenland is also viewed as important for U.S. defence. Russia is a close high Arctic neighbour to the island. And Russia has agreed to collaborate with China in developing an Arctic shipping route that Chinese President Xi Jinping has dubbed an “Ice Silk Road.”