Implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) is one of the key elements of the current international agenda. But some countries, in particular, the least developed countries (LDCs), face serious difficulties in doing so. Such states have very limited internal resources and cannot ensure their own development; as such, they require the involvement of more developed states. Therefore, a key factor to ensure sustainable development is the facilitation and widening of trade and investment cooperation with partners that can provide financing support for the most urgent investment gaps, demand for export products, and imports of necessary goods and services. Traditional collaboration models with partners from developed countries cannot fully meet the needs of the LDCs in the current international context. This situation provides windows of opportunity as new power centres pursue their economic and political goals. China (PRC) has a special place among these emerging powers.

This article analyzes the economic cooperation of China with its 10 key trade partners among the LDCs (LDCs-10). The author suggests various rationales for the PRC’s cooperation with the LDCs, examines the importance of this cooperation for achieving the SDGs, and presents an applied methodology. The first part of the article covers the particularities and general assessment of China’s development finance. The author then analyzes the main aspects of China’s trade policy and its trade and economic cooperation with the LDCs-10. In conclusion, the author considers the dynamics of the key indicators of socio-economic and political development of the PRC and the LDCs-10 and evaluates the relative effectiveness and efficiency of their cooperation through the prism of the SDGs’ implementation.