Abstract. The article analyzes the updated vision of the prospects for global development and the place of the PRC and relations with the United States in it, presented at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Considering in historical retrospect the economic rise of the PRC in the era of globalization, the author comes to the conclusion that the most important reason for this rise was the disappearance of bipolarity. China, in a short time, managed to get closer to world leaders, realizing its main competitive advantage, cheap labor demanded by the West. At the same time, China avoided in every possible way participation in military-political blocs and the promotion of international ideology, concentrating on economic issues. This emphasized lack of global political ambitions made it possible to contain the growth of tensions and preserve the conditions for industrial cooperation. Even the policy of containing China, begun during the Obama administration, did not affect mutually beneficial trade and economic ties and did not bring results. However, the further growth of the economic power of the PRC began to be perceived in the United States as a threat to the current system of international relations. China has become a major strategic adversary, and economic cooperation and technological alliances have come under political constraints. China was no longer allowed to participate in promising areas of economic, scientific and technical cooperation with the West. The 20th CPC Congress was expected to assess the current international situation. But the congress only recorded the increase in negative trends in the world, without identifying positive prospects for China. Using the example of Russia, China saw that sanctions, especially those related to new and high technologies, could undermine its position, and leadership in this area could go to other countries. The long-term desire to avoid open confrontation with the United States has affected China’s lack of reliable allies. Finally, the latest conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine have shown that even the status of a nuclear power does not guarantee the solution of private problems (the Taiwan problem) by military means. As a result, the lack of clarity in the further development of the international situation has become a limiting factor. Not being ready for an open confrontation with the United States, China chose to take a strategic pause and focus on strengthening relations with its allies among the SCO and BRICS members.