Featured Content

The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is the key issue at the talks on Brexit. An absence of Ireland’s only land border is its most amazing feature. The winding and twisting border of nearly 499 km long is not marked by pillars or barriers; there is no barbed wire or checkpoints. After the 2016 referendum on the withdrawal of Great Britain from the EU, the border issue moved to the fore in the relations between the UK and Ireland. When the UK leaves the European Union, the counties on both sides of the twisting border will become the frontier of the EU which will increase, at least theoretically, the possibility of political and economic crises and deeper conflicts in both countries.

This article analyzes China’s position on reaching a settlement on the crisis in Afghanistan. The dynamic of Beijing’s approach is described with allowance for inter-Afghan and regional challenges: strengthening the armed opposition in Afghanistan, its influence on the Muslim Uighurs of Xinjiang, and strengthening the strategic partnership between the United States and India in the region. The year 2015, when Beijing and Islamabad signed an agreement to create a China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), was a landmark for the region.

The dispute between the United States and the People’s Republic of China over trade and economic issues has a long history. It has now become clear, however, that Donald Trump’s protectionist policy is in direct contrast to China’s consistent position in defense of free trade, based on the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Washington sees in Beijing its main strategic competitor and has adopted a policy of long-term opposition to China in all spheres, including trade and economics. Having launched a trade war against China, the United States is also doing its best to weaken by noneconomic means their growing competition in the field of high technology.

This article analyzes China’s position on reaching a settlement on the crisis in Afghanistan. The dynamic of Beijing’s approach is described with allowance for inter-Afghan and regional challenges: strengthening the armed opposition in Afghanistan, its influence on the Muslim Uighurs of Xinjiang, and strengthening the strategic partnership between the United States and India in the region. The year 2015, when Beijing and Islamabad signed an agreement to create a China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), was a landmark for the region.

This article considers the countries of the so-called “Big Three” and the relations among them today. An attempt is made to predict the places and roles of the three countries in reworking the world order, based on the views they hold and features of the existing and future world order. Recommendations are made for their optimization and building harmonious relations capable of establishing a durable and long-lasting peace.

This article describes the formation and development of South Korea’s Arctic strategy. The author concludes that as compared to other Asian observers on the Arctic Council, South Korea has greater potential to develop successful national diplomacy. The country is gradually creating a favorable image and consolidating its political status as a world ecological intermediary implementing a progressive policy of sustainable development.

December 11, 2016 marked the 15th anniversary of China becoming a member of the World Trade Organization. According to the Chinese, this date is grounds for automatically granting China the status of a country with a market economy. What has changed in relations between China and the countries of the European Union since that date, and what is behind the European countries’ hesitation to grant China this status? How are the results of the referendum in Great Britain influencing relations between China and the European Union? What are the prospects for the European Union and the United States concluding a Transatlantic Partnership trade agreement, and how will China’s position in Europe be affected as a result? These questions and others are examined in this work.

The author examines the results of the 15-year activity of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, its structure, and relations between its members. He also analyzes its role in the region and partnership problems, and forecasts the organization’s development prospects in the currently unfolding new world order.

China has proposed a number of integration concepts that are compatible with the interests of Russia but contradict efforts by the United States to maintain a unipolar world order under its hegemony. The author’s aim is to assess the pluses and minuses of RF and PRC integration projects in Eurasia, identify the obstacles standing in the way of their execution, and find ways of eliminating existing problems.

The article examines the prospects for creating an Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area (APFTA), a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and a Transpacific Partnership (TPP). Russia’s participation in negotiations to create a free trade zone and in integration projects in the Asia-Pacific Region is determined by its long-term geoeconomic and geopolitical interests. The latter may be considered the more relevant of the two. They are important not only for Russia’s participation in Asia-Pacific economic integration but for promoting Eurasian integration within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).