Abstract. The article examines the characteristic features of China’s relations with neighbouring countries in the modern period, under the conditions of transformation of the world order and increasing tendencies of interference of large states in the geopolitical situation in the Asia-Pacific region. The author analyses the policies and strategies for positioning China’s efforts in the region, new regional challenges, integration projects, economic initiatives and historical conditions of bilateral and multilateral relations.
The discussion focuses on seven key factors influencing the format of China — periphery relations and the direction of their future development. These include the changing role and place of the periphery in China’s geostrategy, the processes of integration into the “community of common destiny”, the trends of intra-regional confrontation and opposition to external interference, as well as the challenges and prospects associated with the “era of unprecedented change”.
Key words: Chinese foreign policy, geostrategy, era of transformation, peripheral diplomacy, Asia-Pacific, multipolarity, Sino-US relations, “community of common
destiny of mankind”, “One Belt and One Road”, international security.