| Since the 1990 s,the global free trade area has developed rapidly,forming three regional blocks,mainly the European Union,North America and ASEAN,which have had an important impact on the world political and economic landscape.After the collapse of the Soviet Union,Russia,as the main successor of the Soviet Union,has continuously strengthened the economic integration of the CIS region since its independence and strived to become a pole in the world multipolar pattern together with the CIS countries.After years of repeated exploration,On January 1,2015,Russia,Kazakhstan,and Belarus jointly established the Eurasian Economic Union(EAEU),which was subsequently joined by Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.The Eurasian Economic Union is an important outcome of regional economic integration in the CIS region led by Russia,with the ultimate goal of developing into a Eurasian Union similar to the EU.However,the Eurasian Economic Union was established at a time when Russia was experiencing economic sanctions from the West,and when international oil prices plummeted,Russia fell into economic crisis.Under the influence of Russia,the economies of other Eurasian Economic Union member states also experienced different degrees of decline,and the Eurasian Economic Union was in a difficult situation.In this context,the Eurasian Economic Union proposed to establish an external free trade area,which is the first time since the independence of the Eurasian Economic Union countries announced the construction of a free trade area with countries outside the CIS,which not only brings new opportunities for the economic development of the Eurasian Economic Union countries,but also provides new opportunities for the deep participation of extra-territorial countries in the economic integration of the CIS region.The Eurasian Economic Union is one of the most influential regional economic organizations in China’s neighborhood and the core area of China’s "Silk Road Economic Belt" construction.An in-depth analysis of the external strategic trends of the Eurasian Economic Union is of great significance for China to deepen its foreign cooperation.Based on the concepts of CIS,Eurasian Economic Union and free trade area,and based on the theory of free trade area,the theory of non-traditional gains,the theory of Hub-and-Spoke and the theory of geopolitical economic,this paper focuses on the background and demands of free trade area construction,the idea of promoting free trade area construction and the actual progress of free trade area construction.On the basis of the analysis of the main features,main impacts and dilemmas faced by the construction of free trade area,the future trend of the construction of free trade area is examined,and on this basis,countermeasure suggestions are put forward for the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union-China free trade area.The construction of the Eurasian Economic Union external free trade area is proposed under the circumstance that the internal and external environment is not very optimistic,and the goal is ambitious.In order to make the construction go smoothly,the Eurasian Economic Union has planned specific ideas to promote the construction of the external free trade area.First,the new Eurasianism is used as a guide.The new Eurasianism is the main guiding idea of Russian foreign policy since the 21 st century,which emphasizes the importance of Europe while increasing the weight of Asia in foreign cooperation.Second,the vast Asian region is the main direction of development.After the outbreak of the Ukraine Crisis,the relationship between Russia and the EU deteriorated,and the development of the Eurasian Economic Union to the west was hampered.In this context,the Eurasian Economic Union chose the vast Asian region as the main development direction for the construction of external free trade area.Third,China,Vietnam,India and Iran are the pivot countries in the implementation.China and Vietnam are Russia’s comprehensive strategic partnership countries,India is Russia’s priority strategic partnership country,and Iran is Russia’s "special relationship" country.The Eurasian Economic Union has chosen four countries as the pivot countries in East Asia,Southeast Asia,South Asia and West Asia in order to lead the construction of external free trade area.Fourth,the "5+1" as the basic mode of cooperation."5" refers to the five member states of the Union,namely Russia,Kazakhstan,Belarus,Armenia and Kyrgyzstan,and "1" refers to the third country or integration organization,"5+1 ",that is,the Eurasian Economic Union + China,the Eurasian Economic Union + Vietnam,etc.Fifth,market,energy and technical cooperation as a means of promotion.The Eurasian Economic Union has a huge potential market,abundant energy reserves and advanced military technology,so it has become a means to promote the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union’s external free trade area by taking advantage of the huge potential market,energy diplomacy and military-technical cooperation.According to the roadmap for the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union’s external free trade area,the Eurasian Economic Union-Vietnam FTA was officially signed on May 19,2015,and on October 5,2016,the agreement came into force,which is the first FTA signed by the Union and is a model for the construction of the Union’s external free trade area.On May 17,2018,the Eurasian Economic Union-Iran Interim FTA was officially signed,and on October 27,2019,the agreement officially entered into force.Later,on October 1,2019 and October 25,2019,the Eurasian Economic Union signed FTAs with Singapore and Serbia,respectively.By the end of2020,the Eurasian Economic Union has signed four FTAs with the outside world.Besides,the Eurasian Economic Union has also conducted several rounds of free trade negotiations with India,Israel and Egypt.From its current practice,the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union’s external free trade area shows the following four characteristics: first,geographical coverage mainly includes Asian countries;second,the negotiation target gives priority to allies and strategic partner countries;third,the content of the agreement adopts flexible liberalization criteria;fourth,the construction objectives take into account traditional and non-traditional gains.After years of efforts,the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union External Free Trade Area has formed its own unique characteristics and has had a certain impact on the geopolitical and economic patterns of the CIS region,the European region,the Asian region and even the world.It has been more than five years since the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union External Free Trade Area,and it has achieved certain results,but it also faces a series of difficulties.Specifically,the following aspects: first,the inconsistency of the construction goals of the free trade area of each member state of the Union has slowed down the negotiation process;second,the deformed industrial structure and single trade structure of the Union countries have affected the choice of trade partner countries;third,the small size of the overall trade of the Union’s external trade partner countries has restricted economic gains;fourth,the geopolitical and economic pressure from the West has squeezed the development space.In the future,the Eurasian Economic Union will still focus on small trade partners as the object of free trade area construction,while gradually promoting the construction of free trade areas with ASEAN and China,and eventually realizing the establishment of a free trade area with the EU.The Eurasian Economic Union has signed an economic and trade cooperation agreement with China,but there is still a long way to go before the two sides sign a free trade agreement,and there are still big obstacles to the construction of a free trade area between the two countries.For this reason,China can take corresponding countermeasures by drawing on the successful experience of the Eurasian Economic Union in signing free trade agreements. |
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