Conjugation of the Belt and Road Initiative and Eurasian Economic Union: Problems and Development Prospects

Elnur Mekhdiev,Irina Pashkovskaya,Khadiya Sadykova,Olga Smirnova,Elena Takmakova,Svetlana Poltorykhina

doi:10.3390/economies7040118

Abstract

The study addresses the problems arising in association with the conjugation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Belt and Road initiative. The hypothesis is that the conjugation is economically effective, and this is proven by the statistical analysis of trade and investment dynamics and buttressed by empirical observations. Based on this, the recommendations for the EAEU are given. The paper dismantles the problems arising in the sphere of security and peacekeeping and proposes a number of steps for ensuring peace and stable development in the region, implementing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) mechanism. The article highlights the main plans of the China–EAEU partnership and puts forward alternative cooperation strategies for the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The authors develop the most attractive plan for the EAEU and propose the best strategy for its implementation.

Highlights

The Chinese Belt and Road initiative (today known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its previous conception, One Belt One Road, in the authors’ opinion, was much more accurate from the point of view of cultural and socioeconomic conjugation) is the key point of Xi Jinping’s foreign political policy
The entire mechanism of conjugation is driven by the Russian–Chinese partnership because Kazakhstan, one of the new allies of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), is not interested in Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) conjugation and has shown a propensity to build bilateral relations with China
The data demonstrated above show that the weak points of EAEU are: The financial resources and lack of planning, slow economy development and the high dependency on the Russian economy

Summary

Introduction

The Chinese Belt and Road initiative (today known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its previous conception, One Belt One Road, in the authors’ opinion, was much more accurate from the point of view of cultural and socioeconomic conjugation) is the key point of Xi Jinping’s foreign political policy. The integration of new economies into the project of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and its gain in terms of global influence is the central goal of Russian foreign policy in Central Asia. It pursues the proliferation of Russian economic influence but balances the Chinese pursuit of becoming a superpower in Eurasia, in South-East and Central Asia. In 2019, shifted abruptly to the new concept of the Belt and Road initiative—from the major focus on the logistics potential to the investment cooperation development for the reasons described hereinafter—and the second BRI

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