The polar oceans and ice-sheets play vital roles in the Earth’s climate system, and have been the focus of many international research initiatives, such as the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) and the polar oceans and ice-sheets play vital roles in the Earth’s climate system, and have been the focus of many international research initiatives, such as the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) and the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC). The implementation of these initiatives calls for a strong international collaboration to provide scientific, technic and logistic supports. Here we first briefly describe the scientific drivers of polar ocean and climate research from a global perspective, and then discuss China’spotential contributions to the ongoing and future international polar programs, in accordance with our national polar research activities supported by various agencies.