Importance As the global economy develops, various configurations of geo-economic leadership subsequently originate and change. During each phase, key geo-economic centers of global economy play an important role for general development of global society and certain regions of the world. The interaction of those geo-economic leaders drive the unipolar, bipolar or multipolar structure of global economy. Objectives The research examines the competition and geo-economic rivalry of principal centers of global economy at each development milestone, and identifies common patterns of central and peripheral cooperation and specifics of the current phase of geo-economic focus. Methods Using historical and logic, economic and statistical, comparative methods of analysis, I examine various aspects of economic trends in the global economic leaders and patterns of their dominance, and how they retreat from their leading positions. Analyzing the evolution of the geo-economic focus of global economy and the current phase of its development, I determined the objectivity of multifaceted multipolarity origination and the need to develop international alliances and institutions ensuring the interaction of emerging global centers. Results The research analyzes what caused national economies to acquire and lose their geo-economic leadership, and relevant consequences at various milestones of the global economic development. I also identified that geo-economic and geo-political factors were deeply and mutually related in the context of the centers' system and their competition. Conclusions and Relevance Trends in global geo-economic leadership of certain countries stem from macroeconomic, scientific and technological, institutional and, ultimately, military and political factors. I prove that, at the current phase of global economic uncertainty, geo-economic multipolarity may emerge and have unique characteristics due to the specifics of globalization and regionalization.
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