The interaction of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic Belt: complementary potential, indifferent reality

The article deals with the prospects of interstate cooperation in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Russia's integration project, and the Economic Belt of the Silk Road (One Belt, One Road - OBOR), a Chinese initiative of building trade land routes from Asia to Europe. The author points out that the political consensus reached on the implementation of the EAEU and the OBOR between the leaders of the two countries significantly reduces geopolitical risks in Russian-Chinese relations and clarifies the rules of regional competition in Central Asia. The paper analyzes macroeconomic challenges for Chinese and Russian projects. In particular, it is emphasized that sea transport preference in the world trade and the coastal areas dominance in the world industry require from the RF and the PRC technological, administrative and legal solutions to provide effective realization of the initiatives. Particular attention is paid to challenges for the Russian transport and logistics system, which significantly reduce the efficiency of industrial cooperation within the framework of the EAEU and limit Russian participation in the OBOR. Among the main problems of the transport and logistics system of the Russian Federation are the low quality of road and port infrastructure, excessive bureaucratization of customs clearance and state structures regulating foreign trade activities inconsistency. In this article, short-term, medium-term and long-term scenarios of Russian-Chinese cooperation are addressed through the lens of the EAEU and the OBOR interaction including foreign trade, investment cooperation and bilateral cooperation in the legal sphere analysis. It is highlighted that in a short-term perspective the most promising areas in Russian-Chinese relations are joint development of Russia's natural resources and joint meridional land transport investment to promote Russia's resources delivery to the markets along the OBOR. The most promising area for medium-term development of the economic diplomatic process between Russia and China is bilateral cooperation for developing the Arctic region and the northern sea routes. Such cooperation serves to the world trade logistic experience and has a real opportunity to become a part of the northern seaway of the OBOR. Long-term prospects depend on the pace of the national transport and logistics system problems solving in Russia. The Russian transport and logistics potential can become a powerful incentive for creating an interested and motivated Eurasian economic partnership between the Russian Federation and the continental countries of Eurasia, and also can increase the effectiveness of the Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt project.

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