A Chinese Panamax ship recently completed the NSR transit in just five days, showing that it's a viable alternative to the Suez Canal route.
The NSR is basically a conveyor belt for Russian-Chinese trade, most of it passing in or near Russian waters. However for that traffic to reach the global markets of the Atlantic, it has to pass through the GIUK Gap (between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK).
Right now Russia is so dependent on China they're transferring valuable military tech. So that just leaves Greenland if you want to isolate China (and Russia).