The article reflects the conceptual basis of China’s foreign policy advancement in South Asian region, which is practically embodied in the implementation of the Belt and Road economic initiative as a new global agenda of modern international relations development. As part of promoting the initiative, the aspect of China’s bilateral relations with the countries of the South Asian region is also being analyzed. As a result, the authors describe the features of Chinese contribution to and its distribution in the region as well as highlight the main challenges for China in South Asia. © 2021, Rossiiskaya Akademiya Nauk, Institut Istorii (Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of General Hist. All rights reserved.