New and Old Regionalism: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Sino-Central Asian Relations

China's bilateral relations with the Central Asian countries have steadily developed since the establishment of formal relations in January 1991. After the foundation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in June 2001, China's relations with the Central Asian countries have progressively deepened in new multilateral settings. On the one hand, the bilateral cooperation between China and the central Asian countries has promoted the formation of a multi-area and multi-level regional cooperation mechanism; and on the other hand, the establishment of an effective mechanism promoting economic and security cooperation in the region, will significantly benefit the consolidation and expansion of these bilateral relationships.