Economic expansion of China in Ukraine. Can the New Silk Road project support Ukrainian statehood?

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to present the current condition of Ukrainian-Chinese economic relations, in particular initiatives related to the New Silk Road project. The author describes the main areas of cooperation between China and Ukraine, the results of individual initiatives, as well as the difficulties faced by some areas of bilateral cooperation. China turns out to be essential for Ukraine in a period when its relations with Russia have deteriorated and the European Union cannot provide Ukraine with sufficient support. The authorities in Beijing are aware of the strategic position of Ukraine, considering this country as an important link with Central and Western Europe. “is makes the bilateral cooperation very promising, and the increase of Chinese influence in Ukraine is an almost natural consequence of the good collaboration. An increasingly closer Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation results in a number of significant changes in Ukraine and its stronger statehood. According to the author, in the foreseeable future there will be further development of China’s economic expansion in Ukraine. The prospects for cooperation between these two countries are based on the current, multidimensional collaboration, which, however, encounters numerous barriers resulting from the economic weakness and the social capital of Ukraine.