Abstract: China rightfully stands as one of the leaders in world Olympic sports for many years. At the same time, sports achievements are viewed not only as a goal but also as a means of addressing the current tasks in the country's international politics. As history shows, this approach has been employed by the Chinese government since the formation of the Republic, when sports diplomacy was regarded as a means to establish diplomatic relations with various countries, including the United States. The subject of the study is the sports diplomacy of the People's Republic of China, examined through the lens of the country's participation in the Olympic Games, Formula 1 World Championship, and other international sports competitions. The aim of the research is to identify how the impact of sports diplomacy, particularly the arrival of the first Chinese Formula 1 driver and the expansion of technological investments in the sports sector, contributes to the creation of a new channel of "soft power" and addresses economic challenges. The methodological framework includes the analysis of official documents, statistical data, and case studies of key events (the construction of the Shanghai circuit, contracts with global sponsors, the career of Zhou Guanyu). The work is based on highly informative articles by various specialists, such as A. Kattepura, V. Vostrikov, K. Goel, R. Rul, D. Oje, M.-P. Lafond. The results of the research indicate that sports diplomacy helps China develop a new platform for the dissemination of "soft power" and employs a new economic tool to attract tourists and mutual investments. This form of cooperation serves as an instrument for building bilateral relations with different countries, as demonstrated by the examples of "ping-pong diplomacy," "stadium diplomacy," and the Olympic movement. In the field of motorsport, China is actively integrating into its global technological and personnel structure. The PRC is no longer just a passive sponsor but an active participant in major competitions, including Formula 1. The emergence of a Chinese driver and the return of the Chinese Grand Prix after the pandemic have increased citizens' interest in motorsport, attracting over 200 million new fans and forming a positive image of the country.

Keywords: PRC, Sports diplomacy, Stadium diplomacy, Ping-Pong Diplomacy, Soft power, Olympic Games, Formula 1, Investments, Chinese Grand Prix, High-performance sport

Abstract: This article examines the Protocol between Italy and Albania, signed on 6 November 2023, as one of the most institutionally structured examples in European practice of relocating certain stages of border procedures and the related processing of applicants for international protection beyond the territory of a Member State of the European Union while preserving that state’s jurisdiction. The study focuses on the legal design of this mechanism, the reasons for its limited practical applicability, and its political significance for the broader European debate on the externalization of migration procedures and returns. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the protocol’s normative rationale, the conditions for its practical implementation, and its subsequent political framing in institutional and intergovernmental discussions within the EU. The methodological foundation of the study combines a case study design with chronologically structured document analysis and elements of process tracing, as well as comparative legal and political-institutional analysis of regulatory acts, judicial decisions, parliamentary materials, and documents of EU institutions. The article’s scientific novelty lies, first, in demonstrating that the legal limits of the Italy-Albania scheme are revealed through its dependence on the safe country of origin regime rather than through any abstract prohibition of extraterritorialization as such; second, in reconstructing the mechanism through which this bilateral experiment was transformed into a coalition-based argument and subsequently integrated into the official discourse of EU institutions; and third, in combining legal and political analysis on the basis of materials from 2023 to 2026. The study shows that the protocol’s direct operational effectiveness has been limited, whereas its political visibility and significance for the EU agenda have been considerably greater. The article thus clarifies the limits of generalizing from this case and demonstrates that its significance is determined not only by the legal novelty of the mechanism but also by its role in shaping the broader European debate.

Keywords: Italy, Albania, extraterritorialization of asylum, externalization, right to asylum, safe origin country, safe third country, CEAS, process tracing, EU migration policy