Cooperation between China and Central Asian countries within the SCO: current state and problems

Abstract

The article examines the possibility of coordinating the strategy of China “One Belt — One Road” in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the priorities and foreign policy practice of the China. The relevance of the article is due to both China's transition to the second stage of the implementation of the Belt and Road Strategy in 2017, and to the expansion of the membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at the expense of India and Pakistan. The article identifies and systematizes the factors that prompted the Chinese leadership to implement the Initiative, reflects the evolution of the priorities and policies of the PRC in relation to the Central Asian countries within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, identifies the possibilities of communication between the Strategy and the SCO in terms of their institutional and substantive components. The authors studied the main types and directions of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries within the framework of the initiative and the SCO, analyzed the specifics of this cooperation, and aspects of interaction between the parties.