Cultural and Historical Aspect of the Western Discussions around the Belt and Road Initiative of China in the Context of Global Governance

The leading positions of the United States and China in the context of global governance are confirmed by a number of indicators, including GDP, defense spending, membership in the UN Security Council, and others. At the same time, the United States and China represent different value systems, political regimes, and economic models, which makes conflict inevitable, which manifests itself both at the level of self-identification and positioning on the world stage, and at the level of perception of the world order system, attitude to the concept of hegemony. The attitude towards the Belt and Road initiative, which is perceived by the United States as a challenge to the established system of world order, is indicative. Using the example of discussions around the initiative, the paper examines the influence of the cultural and historical aspect on the behavior of states in the international space.