At the beginning of this century, two leading trends are clearly observed in the development of international relations. On the one hand, the national consciousness of the peoples of all countries and continents is growing and the desire to strengthen state sovereignty is growing, on the other hand, economic globalization and regionalization are developing rapidly and the functions of the state are being reduced. The individual structures that make up our modern world are becoming increasingly interdependent. Although security forces, including the military, still play an important role, particularly in the fight against terrorism, the center of international rivalry is moving from the sphere of the arms race to the area of building up state power mainly due to economic, scientific and technical factors.

In the process of globalization, the fate of individual regions is increasing, and a multipolar regional and world order is being formed. There is a trend towards interregional cooperation and competition, and the vertical division of labor is deepening, stimulating international market relations.

Such processes occur within the world's largest geo - economic region, the Asia-Pacific ^*, which, like no other region in the world, is characterized by a broad intercontinental character. Belonging to the Asia-Pacific region of a large number of countries that differ sharply from each other in numerous parameters, including the level of economic development and political democracy, makes it particularly important to have common economic interests and economic cooperation in the region in order to ensure the necessary growth rates - the economy and regional security.

Increasingly visible and large-scale participation of Asian and Pacific countries in global international economic, political and cultural interaction is being put on the agenda. Of course, the Asia-Pacific countries continue to play a relatively independent and important role in the global economy. Thus, the dynamic development of countries such as China, the four small "Asian dragons", and then Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines stimulated an intensive regional economic partnership: up to 70 percent of the trade operations of the region's states are concentrated within the Pacific Asia1 .

The economic recovery is accompanied by a gradual convergence and expansion of regional ties based on economic complementarity, which, in turn, serves to accelerate the pace of material progress. Deepening and expanding economic cooperation and effective market relations thus become a powerful deterrent to the confrontation of States, serve to form a more progressive world order, and ensure global and regional security.

In the Asia-Pacific region, with a relatively stable political environment, there are points of tension. Not so long ago, its hotbed in East Timor was eliminated, North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are causing concern, unsettled relations between China and Taiwan are creating tension, and the separatist movement in Indonesia.

Experience also shows that regional security and economic cooperation in the regions are closely interrelated, and a violation of one of the components of such a link can lead to serious unpredictable consequences. The strengthening of sub-regional integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region demonstrates the desire to avoid disrupting this balance. Even the Asian crisis, which had a negative impact on regional economic cooperation, did not undermine its foundations in general. The Asia-Pacific region, especially East Asia, is still the most dynamically developing region in the world.

APEC AND ASEAN

Economic cooperation between the countries of the Asia-Pacific region is developing along the path of integration of national economies, especially in the sub-regions, as well as on a bilateral and multilateral basis. Integration processes are being activated through the development of intraregional ties and intraregional cooperation. This fact is reflected in the creation and functioning of regional groupings and blocks.

An important place among them belongs to the Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum. In November 1995, at the APEC leaders ' meeting in Japan, the Osaka Declaration was adopted, which approved the Action Program for the creation of a free trade zone in the Asia - Pacific region by 2020. The meeting participants made a commitment to:

^* Modern political science has now developed an idea of which countries and sub-regions are united in the general concept of "Asia-Pacific region". The Asia-Pacific region covers a geographical area from Japan in the north to New Zealand in the south, including three sub-regions. These are Northeast Asia (China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Mongolia), Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei), and the South Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, and other island States). The Asia-Pacific region also includes countries that belong to several regions at once: the United States, Canada. Russia, the only Eurasian state in the world, also belongs to the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, East Asia, i.e. NEA and SE, is a regional link that attracts more and more new countries and territories.

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"firmly adhere to the position of open regional cooperation." At the next APEC meeting in Manila in 1996, the "Manila Action Plan for APEC - 96" was adjusted and it was confirmed that the developed countries will finally introduce a free trade regime by 2010, and developing countries - by 2020.

It is important to note that the functions of APEC are beginning to expand, providing answers to the challenges of economic globalization. In particular, in addition to ensuring the long-term stabilization and prosperity of the region by liberalizing and simplifying foreign trade rules, its tasks now include promoting cooperation through regulatory measures taken to strengthen the foundations of national economies.

The World Trade Organization plays an important role in the economic cooperation of the Asia-Pacific region, which unites 144 countries of the world, accounting for more than 90 percent of the world's trade turnover. The WTO replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was in force from 1947 to 1994. The participating countries pledged to adhere to the basic rules and regulations of international trade. These include: non-discrimination in trade relations, equal treatment of imported and domestically produced goods, the use of mainly tariff - based means of protecting domestic markets and reducing non-tariff barriers, progressive reduction of customs tariff rates in periodically held multilateral trade negotiations, and non-raising them above agreed levels.

In East Asia, the ASEAN sub-regional grouping continues to play an important role. It is planned to implement a number of integration projects, including the Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines Economic Integration Project (in the Sudu Archipelago), the Singapore - China Trans-Asian Railway, and the Mekong River Basin Development Program.

Currently, ASEAN unites all ten Southeast Asian countries with a population of half a billion people, which makes it possible to predict the further growth of its political and economic influence in the Asia-Pacific region. The Asean Regional Security Forum (ARF) aims to promote peace and security not only in Southeast Asia, but also in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. To date, the ARF is the first and so far only organization of this profile in the Asia - Pacific region.

The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is in its infancy. Many countries cooperate with the organization in various areas - the United States, China, Japan, Russia, Australia, India, the European Union, as well as the countries of Central Asia and the Middle East.

Economic cooperation in its broadest aspects is now the main form of relations between the ASEAN countries and their regional partners.

The second informal ASEAN summit at the level of Heads of State and Government in Kuala Lumpur in December 1997 was characteristic in this regard. It was held in the context of the financial and economic crisis in Asian countries and reflected a broader awareness of the importance of regional economic cooperation among Asian leaders than before. The issue of economic cooperation was discussed in close connection with regional security issues. The two sides agreed that the ASEAN countries should increase trade cooperation in the region as a way to overcome the unprecedented devaluation of their currencies. Confidence was expressed that trade between the organization's countries could be expanded if prices remained competitive. They also agreed to accelerate the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area and the ASEAN Investment Area. The heads of State and Government approved a proposal for regional cooperation in the field of nuclear safety and nuclear waste management schemes, which could also involve China, Japan and South Korea. A decision was made on mutual cooperation to ensure the conservation and stability of water resources and the systematic transfer of knowledge and technology in this area ^.2

THE CHINESE FACTOR

The role of the economic factor in ensuring regional security has especially increased with China's entry into a period of rapid economic growth. One of the most important conditions for the latter is the implementation of a long-term policy of foreign economic openness, in the formation of which the role of key factors was played by the country's capacious domestic market and huge reserves of cheap labor.

A special feature of the current foreign policy strategy of the People's Republic of China is a de-ideologized approach to choosing priority foreign economic partners. China's foreign economic strategy is based on the task of reducing the level of dependence on individual partners, fully expanding cooperation on a multilateral basis, and actively participating in the activities of international economic and financial organizations.

In an effort to expand beyond the region, China has launched an initiative to create a united Wuxi-

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The Eurasian Continental Bridge (the second "Silk Road") will be implemented by interested countries. The Chinese leadership sees the creation of the Eurasian Continental Bridge as an opportunity to achieve not only positive foreign economic results, but also to solve one of the serious internal problems at the same time. It is planned to use targeted investments in the infrastructure of the provinces located along the bridge to turn it into a" development corridor " for the surrounding areas, making them attractive for foreign capital. In Lianyungang, which will soon become the largest international trade and tourism center of the People's Republic of China, the Bridge Maintenance Information Center was commissioned in 1998. The Center has already established contacts with 40 countries and regions located along the Eurasian railway track, publishes a specialized magazine " Land-Bridge Economy "("Land Bridge Economy").

However, such large-scale projects as the Eurasian Land Bridge are not yet profitable for all countries. First of all, many participants of the second Eurasian Bridge project face a financial problem. In these circumstances, it is particularly important to attract targeted loans from international financial institutions on concessional terms. As for Russia, the construction of a land "bridge" in the future is likely to complicate the already difficult situation of its Trans-Siberian railway, which is of great importance for the formation of long-term and mutually beneficial ties with the countries of Northeast Asia.

In general, the development of comprehensive cooperation between Russia and China remains the most important guarantee of security in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily in Northeast Asia. Signed in July 2001, the Treaty on Good - Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation consolidated the strategic partnership between the two countries and promoted the development of cooperation between Russia and China in the trade, economic, scientific, technical and military-technical fields. This approach fully meets the interests of Russia, which seeks to strengthen economic ties with China, seeing in this not only economic benefits, but also certain guarantees of its security on the Far Eastern borders.

* * *

Economic cooperation in the region, especially in such a large-scale one as the Asia-Pacific region, cannot be imagined as a smooth, uniform process that is developing progressively.

This is explained by the fact that its member countries have many differences in such parameters as the size of the occupied territory, the size and growth rate of the population, and the level of socio-economic development. Many Asian countries do not have a sufficiently high economic potential. Therefore, the process of economic integration in the region is not yet developing as effectively as in the West. The countries of Western Europe before the creation of the European Union and the transition to a single currency - the euro-went a long way of consolidation, from the creation of nation states and industrial societies in the XVII-XIX centuries to their current state.

The Asian community, on the other hand, has to solve similar problems in a shorter historical time frame. In the vast majority of Asian countries, if there was an awareness of the inevitability of consolidation, it was opposed by the tradition of putting their own interests above regional ones. For example, " in the Old World, regionalism was the natural and logical conclusion of a certain evolutionary process, while in the East, nationalism still rules the ball. Here, the step towards regional cooperation is not so much "made " as"forced". Therefore, there is a great desire of some states to use regionalism to strengthen their own influence, possibly to the detriment of the interests of other countries. " ³

In this regard, it can be concluded that Asia, especially after the monetary and financial crisis in the region, will develop different models of participation in the processes of globalization (the so-called Malaysian model is already known), which will undoubtedly affect the structure of regional economic cooperation and, possibly, strengthen it global trends that can erode regional associations more intensively than is currently the case. Nevertheless, in our opinion, regional economic cooperation will be strengthened in the future in such areas as environmental control, the fight against drug trafficking, economic crime and piracy. In the future, it will be particularly important to coordinate the efforts of the countries of the region in the use of energy and water resources and to step up joint efforts in other non-military areas of activity, in particular, the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and ensuring its safety.

¹ Calculated by the International Monetary Fund: International Financial Statistics, June 2000. World Economic Outlook, August 2000.

² Press statement of the Second ASEAN Informal Meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government of ASEAN Member States. Kuala Lumpur, 15 December 1997 Current archive of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

³ Foreign Policy and Diplomacy of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, Moscow: Nauchnaya kniga, 1998, p. 28.

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