No abstract

Today, global interest in the Arctic continues to increase, and special attention is paid to the issues of comprehensive development of the Arctic region, including socio-economic development, improving the efficiency and safety of navigation in the northern seas, environmental protection and preservation of culture and improving the quality of life of indigenous peoples, by countries that at first glance are far from and have no direct interest in the region. The main platform for identifying and promoting their interests in the Arctic for non-Arctic countries is the Arctic Council, where they have the opportunity to participate as observers in the discussion of key problems of the region, as well as directly in projects implemented in the region, primarily research. Using the example of the largest non – Arctic players – China and India-this article examines the features of international interests in the Arctic from the point of view of the theory of "liberalism" and "realism", as well as the main motives and consequences of the implementation of these interests in the management of the Arctic region for the Arctic countries and the entire world community. It is concluded that, under all equal conditions, the admission and inclusiveness of the participation of non-Arctic stakeholders in Arctic affairs can ultimately change the existing structure of Arctic governance in general. China and India, considered in this article, have become actively involved in Arctic activities and have so far made a much greater contribution than the Arctic states themselves in certain areas.

This article reveals the practice of "ship or pay" principle in the US, Canada and Europe. The authors analyze the practice of concluding contracts for oil and petroleum products transportation, procedures, terms and conditions stipulated in the contract. The "take or pay" principle is a common practice in developed countries like the US, Canada and the UK. The specific feature of the United States is that the pipelines are not built only for one shipper, but rather for all market, which is caused the "open season" tradition. In Canada, "take or pay" principle applies to cover the capital costs of the carrier. The main reasons for usage of terms "take or pay" are to minimize risks of the carrier, building or expanding his own pipeline network, by guaranteeing shipper's financial benefits after the putting pipeline into operation. "Take or pay" contracts cover the carrier's obligation to provide agreed minimum amount of petroleum to the consignor within a certain period. In turn, the shipper is obliged to accept the minimum amount of petroleum and pay, regardless of the fact of acceptance of oil. "Take or pay" principle is a kind of risk-sharing mechanism, which allows to shift the risks of non-fulfillment of the contract to the shipper. Besides, the "take or pay" principle can be indirect guarantee in the context of project financing, and therefore, financing. The article emphasizes the main advantages of the application of this principle and opportunities for its use in Russia.

Nowadays, digitalization has become one of the most significant global development trends. The Chinese banking system, which has only recently been subjected to liberal reforms, is poorly researched in the viewpoint of the digitalization and financial technology impact on it. In this context, it is interesting to identify the main digitalization features in the PRC banking system and to identify this system’s elements which are most susceptible to digitalization influence. The authors set the task to identify how digitalization changes the PRC banking system, in particular, how it affects shadow banking. The major challenges of the article are the high share of the closed data on the Chinese financial sector, the unclarity of the shadow banking activities in the country and their overall negative influence on the economy of PRC and Asian economies and the highly theoretical nature of the digitalization research of banking in the scientific community. The main article’s results consist in that the main differences between digitalization and fintech are determined; it was also proved the Chinese banking system is more adaptable to changing conditions, and the authors suggested the main measures to reduce the shadow banking’ share in China. The main contribution of the article is the revelation of the possible solutions to the problems of shadow banking in China through the use of the new financial instruments of the digital era.

The authors present a brief overview and motives for expanding of the Korean presence in the Arctic. The bilateral interaction between Russia and Korea in the economic and political sphere is analyzed. The authors conclude with highlighting topical issues of Russo-Korean relations in the Arctic and propose some ideas for the development of relations between the two countries.