China’s Take on the Future of the Eurasian Union

In the first half of the second decade of the XXI century, international relations have been characterized by an increased regional association both in the peripheral regions of Eurasia (Trans-Pacific Partnership, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) and in Central Eurasia (the Eurasian integration of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan). China is a sea- continental country, which has always paid close attention to the eastern (sea or Asian-Pacific) direction, and the western (continental or Eurasian) direction in its foreign policy. The purpose of this article is to identify new challenges and characteristics of Chinese foreign policy in the western, continental, Eurasian direction in comparison with the Eurasian integration of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

After the return of Vladimir Putin to the Presidency of the Russian Federation, the promotion of Eurasian integration and the creation of the Eurasian Union are regarded as one of the main strategic directions of the foreign policy agenda, and the foundation for fulfilling the "Eurasian Superpower Dream" of Russia. Russia, resting upon the Eurasian Union, aims at strengthening its position in Central Eurasia. According to the plan, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEC) will be set up in 2015. Located to the eastern boundary of Central Eurasia, China has always maintained close political, economic and cultural ties with Central Asia and acted as the "Asian - European" power.

In the view of Chinese researchers, the current Eurasian integration processes are extremely significant for the Western region of China. Therefore, the success in managing China's relations with the new actors such as the EEC in Central Eurasia will certainly be bound and interlinked with the external environment in order to deepen China’s reforms and openness in the forthcoming years. In this context, such questions as ‘how does the Chinese scientific society perceive the phenomenon of the Eurasian Union?', ‘how do the Eurasian Union and the Eurasian integration affect the Sino-Russian relations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)?’, and ‘how will China refer to the Eurasian Union?’ are undoubtedly relevant for the Chinese scientific community.

So the authors believe that, if China wants to develop fructiferous relationships with the EEC, it should insist on the following fundamental principles of its foreign policy: 1) ‘China is a  country close to Central Asia (Jing Zhong Ya Guo Jia)’is a new identity of the state’s foreign policy in the western direction; 2) SinoRussian relations are fundamental for the development of China's relations with the Eurasian Union; 3) The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Union serve as two pillars maintaining the development and security of China in the region, which is too close to China’s western part.

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