Although the People's Republic of China focuses its activities in the Arctic at theoretical research and commercial shipping in the seas of the Arctic Ocean, China is progressively claiming its intention to participate in creation of transport and logistics centers and in investment into management of natural resources of the Arctic jointly with the Arctic States (first of all, Russia, Island, Norway, Canada and the U. S.A.). China's participation in such projects is only possible under bilateral agreement with the Arctic States, or under other contracts with Russian and other oil and gas companies which perform exploration and mining of mineral resources on the Arctic continental shelf. The presence and activities of foreign oil and gas companies on the shelf of one of the Arctic States is possible in various form-under a product sharing agreement, as a joint venture or a concession, under service contract, etc. This study reveals specifics of the contractual basis for the People's Republic of China to operate in the Arctic. The negative attitude of foreign analytics to the expanding participation of China in the energy projects in the Arctic is highlighted. In the analytics' opining, China's participation constitutes a danger to the existing regional legal regime in the Arctic. In the meanwhile, the current agreements between the oil and gas companies of China and the Arctic States on the subsoil use regulations in the Arctic have a positive nature and comply with the international law.