The analysis on the conjugation between Russia's Eurasian Economic Union and China's 'Belt and Road Initiative'

摘要

The article is devoted to the advantages, risks and achievements of cooperation between the Russian integration project “Eurasian Economic Union” (EAEU) and the Chinese initiative “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI). The Eurasian space has a strategic importance for Russia and China, so the political leaders of these global powers decided to join together the EAEU and the BRI for the development, strengthening and expansion of cooperation in the field ofeconomy. On the one hand, the interaction of the two integration projects opens wide opportunities for all participants: economic growth, technological modernization, creation of transport and logistics infrastructure. Russia and China share a common vision of the future foundations of the New World Order. In contrast to the Western modelofthe organization of internationalrelations on the principle of unipolarity, Russia and China defend the model of a polycentric world order. On the other hand,there are problemsthat cancause competitionbetweenRussia and China. The problems of industrialization of the EAEU member-states, the possible competition betwe. en Russian and Chinese goods in the Eurasian market as well as in the field of industrial technology may appear. At the same time, it is important to understand that the interests of Russia and China largely coincide rather than diverge. The interests of both states are not only economic in nature but also related to Eurasian security issues.　　The first beneficialprojects having been signed within the cooperation between EAEU and BRI aim at the development of transport infrastructure and financial assistance to the member-states. Considering the reverent attitude of the post-soviet states to national sovereignty the Chinese project looks the most attractive due to the absence of a supranational body. However, this fact does not exclude the possibilityofgetting the CentralAsian states into excessive financial dependence on China. Meanwhile, the EAEU will help to balance China’s economic and political relations with the Central Asianstates.　　In the context of globalization, the cooperation between the EAEU and the BRI could be the first step towards the creation of major internationaleconomic structure. Cooperation between the Russian and Chinese projects have enormous potential for effective mutually beneficial development and opens wide opportunities for the participating states. The cooperation ofthe twoprojects will strengthen the geopolitical position of Russia and China in Eurasia as opposed to the geopolitical activity of the United States.