While exploring geopolitical and geo-economic realities in East Asia one has to highlight that national interests of Russia in this region are formed by the need: a) to maintain stability in relations with regional countries especially with those that are located either immediately on Russia's borders or in their close vicinity; b) to achieve and to maintain relations with all the regional countries at such a level when the latter would be directly interested in and would profit from Russia's development as a prosperous peaceful nation; c) to maintain economic security that would provide favourable external conditions for a balanced development of Siberia and the Russian Far East and for an efficient use of its natural resources.

Consequently, a large-scale engagement of Russia into the processes of economic cooperation and international division of labour in East Asia should be undoubtedly regarded as a matter of high national importance. Moreover, taking into account generally favourable forecasts of an economic development in East Asia, participation in economic cooperation with regional countries may present a unique opportunity for Russia to overcome the negative legacy of the Soviet times which resulted in over dependence of national export on energy products and raw materials, in a low competitiveness of domestic industrial products in international trade and in lagging behind industrial nations in modern technologies and know-how.

Also, the nation-wide role of transport infrastructure in Russian eastern regions was expected to increase since, as a result of the Soviet Union collapse, Russian western and southern regions were mostly cut off in the post-Soviet period from a direct access to international markets.

In June 2000, President Vladimir Putin signed the “Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation” that contained a comprehensive assessment of the political, economic and security situation in which Russia found itself by the end of the twentieth century as well as an outline of national priorities in foreign policy at the beginning of the twenty-first century.