Abstract:

The end of the Cold War not only affected the international system, it also brought a change in the bilateral relations between key actors in the system. In this environment, a great change has also been observed in the nature of the relations between China and Russia, especially in response to the policy of the United States to be the only power. Over the past thirty years, cooperation has become the dominant element of the relationship between the two actors. Russia’s attempts to rebuild its lost influence in Central Asia have not been perceived as a threat by China, who wants to take advantage of the region’s economic potential. By establishing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001, the parties provided a legal basis for their cooperation in Central Asia, including the players in the region. In this study, focused on China-Russian relations in Central Asia in the post-Cold War period, the two actors are at the center of their interactions within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The study focuses first on the formation and development process of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Secondly, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization discusses the balance and interaction between these two actors. The study concluded that Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s future success was due to minimizing the impact of China and Russia’s conflicts of interest on cooperation.

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