«STADIUM DIPLOMACY» OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN THE CONTEXT OF ITS GEOPOLITICA INTERESTS

Authors

  • Antonina Shuliak Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University
  • Serhii Kulyk Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29038/2524-2679-2023-01-124-158

Keywords:

O. Lukashenko, Xi Jinping, «stadium diplomacy», national interests, «One belt – One Road», Olympic Games, boycott

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to confirm the hypothesis that the «stadium diploma- cy» of the People’s Republic of China, namely the construction of the National Football Stadium and swimming pool in Minsk, is a continuation of China’s global political, economic and humanitarian expansion in the world. This led to solving the following tasks: trace the history of the construction of stadiums in Belarus; to find out the specifics of the construction of these sports facilities through the prism of internal political processes in Belarus and the bilateral rela- tions of the states at the current stage; characterize China’s geopolitical interests in the Republic of Belarus and the region of Eastern Europe.

The national interests of China in Belarus in the sphere of politics, economy, natural resource potential, military-technical cooperation, demography, ideology, culture, information, sports and state image are analyzed. It has been proven that the PRC successfully promotes its geopolitical interests through «stadium diplomacy». Attention is focused on changes in China’s geopolitical orientations during the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2022. The authors of the study used a sys- tematic approach and a number of methods – historical, generalization, comparison, statistical, event and content analysis, behavioral, forecasting. All this made it possible to conclude that against the background of the internal politi- cal crisis – the violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations by citizens after the presidential elections in August 2020 – Beijing has reduced the activity of Belarusian-Chinese contacts. The foreign policy crisis caused by the support of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus A. Lukashenko for the armed invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022 and, as a result, the im- position of EU and NATO sanctions, led to the fact that Beijing distanced itself from the Belarusian leader and his country. Thus, «stadium diplomacy» lost its relevance.

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Published

2023-03-30