The EU and The EAEU in the Context of BRI: Preliminary Results. Article two

Abstract

The article examines complicated interactions between the EU and the EAEU in the context of the Chinese project BRI. For Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, members of the EAEU, the project offers opportunities for strengthening economic ties with China and at the same time it creates certain preconditions for the growth of China's political and economic influence in Central Asia. The EU's engagement with the project is still limited by Beijing's desire to involve not only the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but also by attempts to expand the BRI's activity to the main EU states. In conclusion, the results of 7 years of the project's existence and the prospects for the development of Russian politics and economy in the context of a global pandemic are analyzed. Over the years, the Chinese BRI project has gone far beyond its transport component, turning into a global integration program, in which China not only ensures the preservation of a high level of economic growth, but also strong positions in the struggle for world leadership. Today BRI is not limited in fact to the Eurasian Silk Road, covering the countries of Latin America and Africa. The Russian participation in this project is limited to political declarations and lacks diversified economic interaction with China.