Abstract. In recent years, the PRC was considered to be the main revisionist power in the world, challenging the leadership of the United States. The rivalry between the two countries in various fields was the subject of close attention of both politicians and scientists. Depending on how this rivalry would end, forecasts were made about the future of the system of international relations. Today it has become obvious that an equally serious challenge to the existing international order is posed by the economic and political crisis of the Western world, which cannot be overcome in the foreseeable future. The question of what kind of international order can replace the current one is gradually moving from a theoretical level to a practical one. As a rule, it is pointed out the multipolar nature of the coming world political order, but how this fundamentally new structure will function in practice remains unclear. The article emphasizes the following questions: What are the characteristics of the Chinese version of the multipolarity, does it have historical analogs, what are traditional Chinese ideas about the world structure and China’s interaction with neighbors, it also argues how useful they can be in contemporary world, in the formation of a new world and regional order. The focus is on China’s relations with neighboring powers, with developing countries and great powers, primarily the United States, as well as the problem of combining world-building functions and international order, which is embodied in Xi Jinping’s concept “Community of common destiny of mankind” and particularly in the Belt and Road Initiative. As a result of its practical implementation, for the first time in world history, two traditions can claim to regulate global relations – Western and Eastern, reflecting different ideas about the world order and organization of international community and having their own ideas about justice.