The article attempts to uncover the deep-seated interests of the West in the development of economic cooperation with socialist countries in the years of «detente», as well as to reveal the dividends that Western countries received from the intensification of ties with socialist countries in the economic sphere. It is emphasized that the «pivot» in the West-East cooperation was predetermined by severe circumstances that arose in the global market economy in the first half of the 1960s. The resolution of West economic problems was possible only in the atmosphere of security and cooperation on the European continent and in the world in general. Having set out on the path of ‘détente’, political and economic cooperation with the Eastern bloc, Western countries showed the world and their own community their positive attitude to this cooperation both as a «charity» and as a necessity, allegedly stemming from the objective process of the integration of two economic models, as well as an instrument for strengthening peace and security. At the same time they sought to hide their political interests. The authors reveal these deep interests, as well as the dividends that Western countries received from the intensification of economic ties with the socialist countries during the years of détente. The analysis was made on the basis of various articles and analytical materials of foreign researchers that appeared "hot on the trail" in the 1970s and early 1980s. The author draws conclusions, generalizations and historical parallels and speaks about the lessons emerging from the analysis of this page of the recent history.