Abstract <p>The article presents a thermoconvective three-dimensional spherical model of the modern Earth geodynamics constructed by the authors, based on the SMEAN2 global seismic tomography model with plate rheology on the surface. The fundamental result is that the numerical three-dimansional model of flows in the spherical mantle layer produces an image of horizontal movements of lithospheric plates on the Earth’s surface that agrees with the modern kinematic plate tectonics model, as well as with satellite observations of horizontal displacements on the Earth’s surface. This agreement allows us to reasonably assert that the three-dimensional model of modern material flows for a spherical Earth is a generalization of the plate tectonics concept, which has been developed for half a century within the framework of kinematic theory using mainly two-dimensional convective models of mantle flows, which can describe only regional processes. We consider application of the model to explain some features of regional tectonics.</p>