Russian-Chinese Relations in the Context of Mutual Influence of Integration Processes

The article examines Russian-Chinese relations in the context of the interface between the projects of the Eurasian Economic Union and the project “One Belt — One Road.” For a relatively long time, experts considered the difficulty of connecting these projects. The EAEU is an integration association of some countries of the post-Soviet space. Regarding the economic belt of the Silk Road, there has long been a discussion about its essence and mechanisms. The complexity of the interface was seen in the obvious difference in the essence of the projects, and hence the interface mechanisms themselves. The concept of “One Belt — One Road” is used by us as a generalization for all individual projects put forward by the People’s Republic of China. In fact, this does not change the interface problem. Recently, with the emergence of new views on integration issues and the formation of the theory of Eurasian integration, it became possible to consider it as a certain mechanism for achieving other more significant goals.

Aim. The purpose of the study is to analyze Russian-Chinese relations in the context of the impact of the development of integration projects of EAEU and OBOR.

Tasks. Thus, the tasks of the study were: to show the possibility of studying the interaction of projects within the framework of integration interaction; show that interaction is a mechanism for influencing Russian-Chinese relations.

Methods. The research methodology is based on modern views on the process of Eurasian integration, more precisely on such concepts as “pragmatic Eurasianism,” “securing integration,” “geographical poles of inaccessibility,” “transport union.” At the same time, the main idea is integration as a mechanism for achieving other goals, including the possibility of influencing international relations. Under current circumstances, the COVID-19 pandemic has a direct impact on international relations and in particular on international economic relations. Since the modern development, primarily economic relations, is largely determined by the influence of the pandemic, the secondary task was to show the stability of integration associations to the conditions of the pandemic.

Results. The results were: the possibility of using the provisions of the modern theory of Eurasian integration to solve the problems of interaction between the EAEU and the OBOR was shown; it is shown that the ideological contradictions of the projects of the EAEU (protection of preferences of the common customs territory) and the OBOR (creation of extensive FTAs) are partially removed by the signed agreements within the framework of the interface; resistance of integration structures to pandemic is shown.

Conclusions. New approaches to defining the integration process, in particular, the theory of Eurasian integration — “pragmatic Eurasianism” is focused on the possibility of achieving the goals of the “One Belt — One Road” project and the concept of the Great Eurasian Partnership and provides an opportunity to show the dynamics of development, including in Russian-Chinese relations.

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