In an effort to stop China from acquiring the remaining privately held property on the strategically important Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, the Norwegian government cancelled plans to sell it. For $326 million, the secluded Sore Fagerfjord property, encompassing 60 square kilometres of mountains, meadows, and a glacier in southwest Svalbard, was up for grabs.

The archipelago is situated in an Arctic area that has grown increasingly significant in terms of geopolitics and economics as the ice melts and ties between Russia and the West get more chilly. It is situated midway between the North Pole and the Norwegian mainland. The peculiar legal system that governs Svalbard makes it possible for international organisations to establish themselves there.

While a 1920 treaty acknowledges Norway's sovereignty over the region, it also grants the residents of the signatory powers?China and Russia, among others?equal rights to utilise its mineral riches. For many years, Russia, for instance, has sustained a colony of coal miners on Svalbard through the state-owned enterprise Trust Arktikugol. However, Norway is eager to maintain its sovereignty and would not tolerate the land ending up in foreign hands. As a result, the government said on Monday that any prospective sale would need state clearance in accordance with national security law.

Trade and Industry Minister Cecilie Myrseth stated that the current owners of Sore Fagerfjord were willing to sell to parties who could potentially challenge Norwegian legislation in Svalbard. She expressed concerns that such actions could disrupt stability in the region and pose a potential threat to Norwegian interests. Lawyer Per Kyllingstad, representing the sellers, had previously informed AFP that there had been "concrete signs of interest" from potential Chinese buyers who had shown a longstanding interest in the Arctic and Svalbard. According to him, the piece of land represented a unique opportunity as the last private land in Svalbard and possibly the last private land in the world's High Arctic.

Kyllingstad did not immediately respond to the government's announcement. Local media reported that the property's seller was a company controlled by a Russian-born Norwegian.

Critics expressed scepticism regarding the sale's price and feasibility. They pointed out that the property, located in the southwest of the archipelago without infrastructure, covered protected areas where construction and motorised transport were prohibited, thereby diminishing its commercial value. In a similar instance in 2016, the government reportedly paid 33.5 million euros to acquire the second-last piece of private land on Svalbard, near Longyearbyen, which was also under scrutiny by Chinese investors at the time.