It has been 68 years since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). From a historical perspective, although this is a very short period, the country saw fundamental changes during this timeframe. Socio-economic measures taken in the PRC’s early years focused on promoting agriculture, changing forms of ownership, and industrialization. These measures transformed China into a strong and powerful state. The main aim of the current five-year period is to improve the population’s living conditions and build a “moderately prosperous society” (“xiaokang”) by eradicating poverty. The motto of the current period is conservation and quality. Aim. This study aims to analyze the reforms and transformational changes facilitating rapid development of the PRC‘s economy, science, technology, culture, education, and military defense, as well as improving the population’s well-being. Tasks. It identifies major problems and risks that hinder China’s sustainable socio-economic development. Methods. This study uses general methods of scientific cognition. Minutes of party conventions, sessions of the State Council of the PRC, and official Chinese statistics serve as its factual base. Conclusion. China has carried over the achievements, challenges, and problems of the twelfth five-year period (2010-2015) into the thirteenth five-year period (2016-2020). To build a “moderately prosperous society,” the country now faces extremely difficult issues of modernization and social reform.

This study analyzes economic relations between the People’s Republic of China and Central and Eastern European countries. Central and Eastern European countries are one of China’s primary areas of interest for the development of foreign economic cooperation, due to their favorable geographic location, investment environment, and membership in the European Union, with which China has long sought to strengthen commercial and economic relations. Aim. This study aims to assess the current situation, prospects, and risks of in-depth cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and Central and Eastern European countries. Tasks. This study determines areas of economic cooperation, examines mutual interests, and analyzes the impact of China on the development of Central and Eastern European countries. Methods. This study uses the following research methods: theoretical and comparative analysis, observation, synthesis, generalization, description, and graphic simulation. Results. China’s transformation into one of the key foreign investors in Central and Eastern European countries has been accompanied by a steep increase in the volume of trade, along with an increasingly positive trade balance. China basically provides investments in exchange for finished products, while Central and Eastern European countries, whose economic growth over decades has depended on foreign investments, see Chinese investments as a new driver of economic development. High potential for better economic relations between China and Central and Eastern European countries has facilitated the development of the 16 + 1 cooperation framework and added European countries to China’s One Belt, One Road initiative. Conclusion. In view of the similarity between the People’s Republic of China’s policy in Central and Eastern Europe and that of the former Soviet Union, this study of the relationship between Central and Eastern European countries and the PCR can be used to formulate a foreign policy strategy for Russia and the former Soviet Union countries, in cooperation with China.

This study examines the process of human capital investment management, while allowing for regional innovative processes and a favorable investment environment. The effect of regional innovation policy on human capital development and its capability for further adjustment are analyzed with due regard for the needs of the government, business, and society. Aim. The results of the study make it possible to identify specific aspects of human capital investment management, allowing for interests of the government and enterprise owners in the investment. Tasks. The main objective of this study is to determine the actual amount of human capital investment in a region, a key performance indicator of the investment itself and of the amount of innovation activity influencing the region’s economic modernization. Methods. This study uses methods of comprehensive analysis and synthesis to assess human capital investment in a region, to develop managerial solutions that allow growth of human capital and improve regional competitiveness. Results. In Russia, regional authorities and enterprises are not paying enough attention to human capital investment. Therefore, particular focus should be placed on the crucial role of human capital in the competitive growth of enterprises and the economy in the region. Conclusion. A comprehensive approach to human capital investment management will facilitate growth of capital, which will in turn improve the quality of life in the region and enhance regional competitiveness, resulting in sustainable economic growth.

This study identifies the needs of target groups at assessment of competitiveness of municipalities. Aim. Scientifically and methodologically, this study substantiates the selection of factors used for a strategic analysis of municipalities. Tasks. To achieve this goal, it attempts to solve the following problems: identifying the needs of target groups, developing a system of factors (criteria) to analyze municipalities, and devising a matrix that identifies existing problems and prospects in developing municipalities. Methods. This study uses a dialectical approach, applying economic statistics, comparative analysis, and special strategic analysis methods. Results. Within this strategic approach, the authors propose an adapted methodology to examine municipalities. Conclusion. The research concludes that a municipality can succeed by creating a synergistic cooperation between several target groups with common or aligned interests.

The presented study focuses on the issue of enhancing the innovative, economic, and investment competitiveness of the Russian Federation in light of the global experiences of the leading countries, particularly the USA. Aim. Legislative procedures and the national policy in the field of intellectual property need to be improved through budgetary subsidies and consolidation of rights on research and development findings. Tasks. This study aims to analyze the provisions of the regulatory framework for consolidating rights on intellectual property assets (IPA) in the USA and to examine conceptual changes in approaches as well as the effect of intellectual property creation on political and economic dominance, which grows stronger along with globalization. Methods. The study uses systems and statistical analysis as well as historical and institutional approaches. Results. The authors show that the transfer of exclusive rights on IP subsidized by the government has been practiced not only in the USA but also in Great Britain and Japan. However, the results have been negative, forcing the government to change the status of the developer university with regard to IP rights. There is also a trend of partially transferring rights on the IP funded by the government to the developer university or the authors. It is found that at the current stage, the leading countries in IP creation continue to assign rights on the products of innovative and intellectual activities, intended for military, special, and dual purposes, to the government. Conclusion. The conducted study substantiates the necessity of transformation and development of the national innovation system, this being not the ultimate but a vital prerequisite for the financial and social efficiency of innovative activities. The main goal is the efficient distribution of advanced technologies, particularly products of government research and development, and their fast commercialization. All this provides significant benefits and a sound foundation for high-tech research in the near future. This issue can only be solved by developing a clear understanding of the national economic and political objectives, strategic and operational motives of behavior of competitors, and a set of measures for adequate, rational (adequate to the challenge) management of the process under examination, which are yet to be developed (and can be partially copied).

Efficient development of airport enterprises (AE) is possible by examining these enterprises’ strategic positions, identifying dependencies between strategic indicators of AE, and determining the vector of AE development. Aim. This study aims to identify the most viable directions for development of airport enterprises in the selected clusters. Tasks. To assess the strategic position of AE, to select paired dependencies between their strategic indicators, further predict changes and assessments of passenger traffic, to perform SPACE analysis of indicators, and identify potential directions for AE development. Methods. This study uses general methods of scientific cognition and statistical methods to examine strategic indicators of airport enterprises and their dependency on AE developmental vectors. Results. It assesses dependencies between strategic indicators of AE and identifies vectors of strategic positioning for AE in each of the six formed clusters. Conclusion. Using the proposed methodological approach to develop efficient future development strategies, airport enterprises can select the most viable strategic decisions regarding strategic positioning and whether to adopt an aggressive, competitive, defensive, or conservative policy with regard to its focus.

An Internet resource is an advanced, crosschannel, information resource used for advertising and promotion in the mass market. The number of different classifications of information resources found in the scientific literature proves the relevance of this innovative commercial product. Aim. This study aims to examine information resources as an intangible corporate asset and identify factors influencing the speed of obtaining information. The innovativeness of a business and its ability to remain competitive in the market are hinged on these factors. Methods. It analyzes the most popular approaches to classify information resources, ranked by their usefulness, i.e., usability, organizational and inter-organizational functions, capability to allow discrete access, and discrete use of resources. Results. Factors that determine the efficiency of online services, formed in a cross-channel information system, retain their properties for a long period of time, and provide ultimate value for the end user.

This study is dedicated to exploring the possibility of using the environment of an industrial enterprise in a cluster formation. Aim. This study aims to structure the major elements of the policy and the practice of clustering, within a liberal and conductorial framework. Tasks. Using the Laser Association as an example, this study examines the relationship between analyzed types of activity and basic scientific research about the geographic localization of cluster formations, also investigating their regional homogeneity. Methods. Apart from general methods of scientific cognition, this study uses statistical methods that divide analyzed enterprises into homogeneous groups and assess the homogeneity and sustainability of resulting groups. Results. The study is conducted using the Laser Association. In five out of six Russian Federation regions involved in the laser field, basic scientific research determines the composition and structure of all other types of scientific research, industrial research, and educational activity. The correlation between analyzed types of activity and basic scientific research ranges from “apparent” (personnel training; design, and production of goods) to “high” (experimental development, and scientific, and technical activities) to “very high” (research work and applied scientific research). In the field of lasers, basic scientific research is concentrated in the following cities, which also serve as cores of cluster formations: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Oblast, Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Samara, Kazan, Saransk, Snezhinsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Tomsk, and Novosibirsk.

This study identifies the strategic characteristics of FDI. Aim. The study determines and presents the strategic role of FDI, its characteristics, and its impact on the economic development of the regions where it is made. Tasks. In this study, we identify the nature of FDI and the extent of its positive and negative impacts on regional economic development, particularly during the selection and implementation of strategic development priorities. Methods. The study uses a strategic approach to analyze the work of major researchers on the examination of factors that determine the efficiency of FDI. Other research methods include scientific generalization and systematization. Results. Foreign investment that requires large amounts of financial resources and technology transfer ends up being a long-term process. This study presents, in a structured fashion, the approaches to determining the positive and negative impacts of FDI on economic development that have been adopted by different schools of thought and outlines major strategic characteristics of said investment process. Conclusion. Mistakes made during initial strategy development and failure to assess the potential opportunities and threats of operating in new markets may result in significant losses that require a consistent strategic approach if they are to be avoided. Strategic priorities aimed at attracting FDI in regional economies should be based on the existence and potential formation of strategic economic factors that would ensure a positive effect from its implementation while reducing any negative impacts.

This study analyzes conditions for the formation and development of lateral clusters as a model for higher education (HE) development in Russia. Aim. This study aims to devise strategic plans for the growth and innovative development of Russian HE corporations (lateral clusters) with the purpose of providing practical guidelines for improving their efficiency and competitiveness. Tasks. In this study, we examine the theoretical foundations, tools, and methods of the development and implementation of corporate sustainable development strategies using mathematical economic models; substantiate our choice of the efficient strategy; and assess the efficiency of strategic sustainable development of HE corporations. Methods. The study uses the dialectic method, systems approach, and methods of economic and statistical economic analysis. It also uses monographic, statistical economic, systems, informational, and other methods and approaches. Conclusion. An efficient combination of HE and practical needs of employers (formation and operation of a lateral cluster) requires the complex integration of three factors. First, the public sector of the education industry must be reformed, which is being seriously discussed at present. Second, the level of managerial knowledge and skills in the education industry needs to be increased. Third, the business sector needs to take active part in the operation of educational institutions.