From 629 to 648, a reunited China—under the Tang Dynasty (618-906)—destroys the power of the Eastern Turk north of the Gobi; establishes suzerainty over the Khitan, a semi-nomadic Mongol people who live in areas that will become the modern Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin; and forms an alliance with the Tiele (proto-Uyghurs), who inhabit the region between the Altai Mountains and Lake Balkash.

Between 641 and 648, the Tang conquer the Western Turk, reestablishing Chinese sovereignty over Xinjiang and exacting tribute from west of the Pamir Mountains.

The Turk empire will finally end in 744.