The EAEU and the OPOP - how can the superpowers of Eurasia interact within the framework of integration projects

Introduction: Russia and China are two extremelypowerful countries on the Eurasian continent. The interaction of these superpowers is fraught with risks and difficulties, especially in those conditions when both sides are pursuing their own goals. For the People’s Republic of China, the basis of foreign economic policy is the OPOP project, which combines logistics, trade, and investment components. China’s main goal is to promote it and create conditions for its most effective implementation in Eurasia. For Russia, the most important is a less ambitious institution - the EAEU, which serves to promote the interests of the Russian Federation in the countries closest to Russia’s partners. Purpose: to identify the benefits and risks of interaction between the EAEU and the OPOP and offer the cooperation tools that minimize risks. Methods: the research is based on general scientific methods, in particular, deduction; the statistical method of linear regression and the analysis of the synergetic results of economic development are also used. Results: the interaction of the two projects of the Eurasian superpowers is inevitable, and therefore it is extremely important for Russia and the EAEU to properly develop a partnership with the PRC, as well as to soberly assess the existing risks. The EAEU needs the growth drivers today. Such a driver can be a partnership with the PRC and active participation in the OPOP. The proposed coupling strategy takes into account the risks of sinoization; respectively, to reduce them, it is proposed to strengthen the centripetal trends in the EAEU by the economic methods. Conclusions: the coupling of the EAEU and the OPOP is inevitable. It is accompanied by risks; at the same time, the risks of coupling do not outweigh its benefits. For the further development of the integration initiatives in Eurasia, it is necessary to strengthen the attractiveness of the Russian economy model for the EAEU countries.