Abstract: This study makes a comparative analysis of the changes of foreign trade between Xinjiang of China and the countries in Central Asia from 2005 to 2014. The dynamic changes of bilateral trade, trade unions, trade balance, and trade development environment on the time scale are explored. The study results are shown as follows. 1) The trade volume between Xinjiang and countries in Central Asia has increased in the past years. However, in terms of trade with Central Asian countries, Xinjiang's dominant position in China has decreased gradually in the past years. 2) The bilateral trade has a high degree of integration, while the degree of dependence on trade is decreasing year by year. 3) There is a large surplus in the trade of Xinjiang with the countries in Central Asia, and the difference is expanding. 4) The trade development environment in Xinjiang is superior to those in Central Asian countries, and bilateral trade environment has been improved in recent years. In order to optimize the trade between the two sides, we put forward the suggestions for the trade development as follows. 1) The development of processing trade in Xinjiang should be strengthened to improve the digestion capacity of imported raw materials. 2) The imports from Central Asian countries should also be strengthened to balance the trade gap. 3) The bilateral free trade areas should be constructed to offer new chances to develop the trade cooperation among the countries.

Key words: Xinjiang, Central Asian, foreign trade