ECONOMIC TRENDS AND PRIORITIES OF THE SILK ROAD ECONOMIC BELT AND THE21ST-CENTRY MARITIME SILK ROAD IN TERMS OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION

The article is devoted to the analysis of the main economic directions and priorities of China's initiative. The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Sea Silk Road, united in the Belt and Path Initiative in the context of regional integration. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the Silk Road Economic Belt aims to create an economic cooperation zone that will make closer economic ties between countries in the region. The article discusses the content, evolution, goals and reasons for the initiative of China. The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Sea Silk Road, united in the Belt and Path Initiative. The paper notes that the PRC leadership relies on the concept of development and win-win situation for all participants, because this initiative can give impetus to infrastructure development, development of innovations, improvement of the business climate in the region, more even distribution of production factors., accelerate the development of remote areas, reduce costs through the development of economic corridors and industrial parks, technological chains, cooperation in the field of finance and ICT, electricity and tourism, and humanitarian cooperation and international exchanges. Thus, it will strengthen the relationship and the complementarity of the development of Asia as a whole, providing a powerful incentive for its prosperity. The implementation of the initiative is also intended to create a “single destiny community” in Asia. It is concluded that in case of successful implementation, the initiative may lead to reformatting the mechanism of economic growth in Asia and give it a new impetus. In this regard, the Chinese strategy is more likely to be regarded as a desire to lead economic growth in Asia and deepen regional integration.