The collapse of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) opened up to China phenomenal opportunities for exercising and influencing current political and economic processes in the Central Asian region. In addition to the independence of the Central Asian republics and their ability to act as sovereign national entities, for the first time in the history of Central Asia, the region exposed by various external actors such as the United States, Turkey, the Arab world, Iran, South Korea and Japan. China, due to its western borders in Xinjiang with Central Asia, has a great opportunity to influence on the developments and events in this region. The purpose of this paper is to analyze China's foreign policy in Central Asia in the transitional era. The objective was to solve the following questions: What are China's interests in Central Asia? How does China promote these interests through bilateral and multilateral cooperation? What role does the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) play in balancing the role of major powers in Central Asia?

The collapse of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) opened up to China phenomenal opportunities for exercising and influencing current political and economic processes in the Central Asian region. In addition to the independence of the Central Asian republics and their ability to act as sovereign national entities, for the first time in the history of Central Asia, the region exposed by various external actors such as the United States, Turkey, the Arab world, Iran, South Korea and Japan. China, due to its western borders in Xinjiang with Central Asia, has a great opportunity to influence on the developments and events in this region. The purpose of this paper is to analyze China's foreign policy in Central Asia in the transitional era. The objective was to solve the following questions: What are China's interests in Central Asia? How does China promote these interests through bilateral and multilateral cooperation? What role does the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) play in balancing the role of major powers in Central Asia?