SCO member Uzbekistan is reaping the benefits of increasing foreign interest in its economy. Uzbekistan spent decades in isolation under the late President Islam Karimov. But the country has begun to rapidly open up since Karimov's death in 2016. CGTN's Guy Henderson reports.

2 million taps a year are manufactured at the Pengsheng Industrial Park. The copper is sourced locally and the plant manager tells us only a few of the employees are foreigners. AWP is a Chinese-Uzbek joint venture: a 50/50 partnership. Its products are exported all over the world: clients include British home and garden giant Homebase. Both partners are keen to stress it's a win-win.

Here's another company housed on this premises. This one's fully-Chinese: and in fact owned by the same firm that set up this whole complex. Pengsheng Ceramics, too, wants to stress the benefits it brings to the Uzbek economy. The manager explains every part of the process is completed on-site. That, says the park's CEO, means more value added.

WANG XINGHE, CEO PENGSHENG INDUSTRIAL PARK "As a foreign company, we are facing language problems in our operation here. To this end, we have set up a training center to train Chinese and Uzbek employees, bridging them over language and cultural differences so they can better understand each other. We also promote local employees to cut as much as possible our Chinese staff. This will also help overcome the language problems."

The 16 companies based in this special industrial zone enjoy numerous benefits including tax breaks. It's worth noting none of them are solely Uzbek. But a decade into Pengsheng's existence, we found no one complaining.

GUY HENDERSON PENGSHENG INDUSTRIAL PARK, UZBEKISTAN "There is a small football stadium, a swimming pool, even a pre-school inside this complex. Pengsheng may be a private sector initiative but it comes with political backing at the highest level. Because the fact is Central Asia's most populous nation is seen as an increasingly attractive investment destination. And it's by no means just China that is vying for business."

Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a visit to this site in 2016, as Beijing promotes its One Belt One Road economic corridor. Last month, Uzbekistan's reform-minded president traveled to Washington, signing over 20 major business deals with American companies. When he got back, Shavkat Mirziyoyev immediately hosted the Russia defence minister. It is, as it's often been in this region, a balancing act.

FARKHOD TOLIPOV INSTITUTE FOR ORIENTAL STUDIES "On the surface, it looks like a zero-sum game on the surface but central Asian leaders – Uzbek president, Kazakh president and others – constantly re-iterate that it's not like this. It is really a win-win policy. Many use the expression that Uzbek foreign policy is constructed on the basis of principle of balance between great powers."

As they jostle for influence, Uzbekistan appears to be reaping the benefits - after decades of isolation. GH, CGTN, UZBEKISTAN.