China’s Digital Silk Road initiative: directions and prospects of development, advantages and risks for Russia

Objective: to analyze China’s Digital Silk Road Initiative (DSR) as one of the key elements of the PRC’s strategy within the “One Belt, One Road” project; to identify and systematize the main directions of the DSR program and its impact on global digital transformation; to analyze the prospects for cooperation between Russia and China in relation to the economic and geopolitical goals of the Russian Federation. Methods: general scientific methods of cognition were used, such as analysis, synthesis, inductive-deductive and structural-functional methods, systematic and comparative analyses. Results: the main directions, tools and technologies of the Digital Silk Road Initiative were identified. The main political (geopolitical) approaches to DSR were identified and analyzed. The research assesses the geopolitical landscape of the Initiative implementation, taking into account the position of its technological competitors and partner countries. The author assesses the risks of debt dependence of countries and develops the DSR scenarios. The work reveals the DSR impact on the economic and geopolitical positioning of Russia in the global digital space. Scientific novelty: the author proposes to consider DSR as one of the key directions for the digital multipolar world development, as a multidimensional project uniting the economic, technological and geopolitical goals of China. In addition, the paper uses the latest data on China’s investment activity in the Asia-Pacific region, Africa and South America, applies and comprehends modern economic and geopolitical theories for DSR analysis. Project development scenarios are proposed in the context of global technological competition. Practical significance: the analysis of the main DSR directions and geography allows a systematic approach to building economic and geopolitical forecasts regarding the development of certain digital technologies and projects. It may help to develop recommendations on optimizing the cooperation strategy with China within the DSR and on creating mechanisms and tools for regulating digital initiatives (cybersecurity standards, digital arbitrations, etc.). It provides important information for evaluating the possibilities of cooperation between Russian and Chinese corporations within the DSR project.