Abstract
The EU-EEU-PRC generate about a third of the world's foreign trade and ensure the functioning of the largest logistics routes in the Eurasian mega-system. The chapter reveals trends in bilateral foreign trade in 2010-2020. China increased the volume of foreign trade to the EU and the EEU in 2015-2020: China increased exports to the EU (+ US$ 100 billion annually), while imports from the EU increased by US$ 60 billion annually; the EU reduced exports to the EEU by US$ 44.4 billion, imports from the EEU by US$ 121.2 billion. Foreign investors are cautious in expanding fixed asset investments to the EEU; however, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are attractive for foreign investors. The chapter lists China's lagers international projects of the Belt and Road Initiative, analyzes the processes of their institutional support, highlighting the infrastructure and technology cooperation projects, identifies key China and EEU Member States cooperation projects.
TopBackground
The problems of research on foreign trade, foreign investment and large investment projects of the EU, the EEU and the PRC are presented in the scholarly literature in a diversified manner, with a wide coverage of related areas of research. A distinctive feature of scientific publications in recent years is a multi-level study of the political component, consideration of issues of integration, interaction both in the EU and the EEU, and on a multilateral basis.
It should be noted that in the modern scientific literature, the issues of the development of regional integration of the EEU member states are more fully presented. Note the article in which the author examines the entire range of integration processes in institutional, trade, economic and social aspects, including an analysis of scenarios for their development until 2025, and also links the interaction of the Greater Eurasian Partnership project and the strategy of China's economic advancement to Eurasian countries (Vardomsky, L., 2019).
The tasks of foreign trade interaction with third states, which are dominant trade partners, are not so widely represented. But among the studies, there are a number of publications by a team of researchers - analysts of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), dedicated to the place of the EU and the PRC in the EEU strategy.
Most of the work of this team concerns the initial stage of the formation of the EEU and sets out in detail the prospects for cooperation with the EU and the possibility of using the territory of the EEU for transporting goods from China to the EU. The main conclusion of these scientific works is to indicate the significant potential for cooperation in the Eurasian space. The authors assumed that its implementation would allow “by 2020 to multiply the number of container trains and container turnover (up to 200-250 thousand TEU), and the number of train departures per week (regularity) will triple (about 100 per week)” (Vinokurov, E., 2018).
Key Terms in this Chapter
European Union (EU [27]): An integrative economic and political union of 27 European states aimed at deepening regional integration.
Large Investment and Mega-Projects: Large projects US$ 500,000-US$ 10,000,000; mega-projects over US$ 10,000,000.
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU): Is an integration economic and political union of five states: Armenia, the Belarusian Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation.
Project Cycle: An algorithm of sequential actions (initiation, justification of economic feasibility, development of project documentation, coordination, and implementation of individual stages of work, completion), aimed at the successful implementation of the project.
Fixed Assets Investments: The costs of fixed assets creating and acquiring, as well as imported ones, carried out from all sources of financing, including budget funds on a repayable and non-repayable basis, loans, technical and humanitarian assistance, an exchange agreement.
Exports: Exports of goods outside the customs territory of an integration association or state without obligations of re-imports.
Belt and Road Initiative: An interstate project for the construction of an efficient transport and infrastructure system between China and Europe and aimed at the socio-economic development of Eurasian regions along the transport and logistics corridors of the project.
Imports: The importation of goods into the customs territory of an integration association or state without obligations to re-exports.
Investment Project: A document substantiating the profitability of an investment, as well as a well-thought-out action plan (business plan) related to the investment of financial and other tangible and intangible assets in certain activities in order to make a profit.
Greater Eurasia (Continents Asia and Europe): The continent of Eurasia, located between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans in the west and north and the Pacific and Indian oceans in the east and south; a huge plateau of land surrounded by the world's oceans.