Türkiye looks to draw on its geographical position and an EU customs deal to lure Chinese investors keen to access European markets tariff-free, as it recently just did with carmaker BYD.
The Chinese electric vehicle giant signed a billion-dollar deal with Ankara on Monday to open a plant in western Türkiye, promising to create 5,000 jobs.
The country, at the crossroads between Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, is in talks with other Chinese companies, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said this week.
"We want to transform Türkiye into a production center for the next generation of vehicles," Kacır told private broadcaster Habertürk.
The minister emphasized his country's selling points, including being part of the EU's customs union and having trade agreements with 28 countries.
"Chinese producers want rapid access to international markets," he said. "Investing in Türkiye offers them that."
The European Union recently slapped additional provisional tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese EVs following an investigation that concluded state subsidies meant they were unfairly undermining European rivals.
Ankara has had a customs deal with the EU since 1995 that enables the free flow between them of a number of goods, notably cars.
Türkiye became one of the leading centers of the world's automobile industry starting in the 1970s, when major carmakers including Fiat and Renault opened plants there, with others like Ford, Toyota and Hyundai following.
BYD's Turkish base will allow the Chinese EV specialist to not be liable for EU tariffs upped by Brussels in July, and enter European markets.
Also, under new regulations on investment incentives in Türkiye, BYD will not be liable for a new 40% tariff that Türkiye originally imposed on electric vehicle imports – manufacturers investing in the country will be exempt.
New partnership
At least five other Chinese carmakers are now considering opening plants in Türkiye, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Turkish manufacturer Togg and Chinese firm Farasis have also earlier partnered up to produce EV batteries in Türkiye.
Turkish officials have held numerous meetings with Chinese industrialists in the last year, the industry ministry said.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also visited China in June to seal a new bilateral deal, calling the countries "drivers of Asian wealth."
During the trip, he also visited Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwestern China, which was the first by a high-ranking Turkish official since 2012.
Türkiye and China enjoy close ties, although the issues relating to the rights of the Uyghur community in Xinjiang overshadowed relations in the past.
The relations, however, gathered pace in the recent period with the Turkish energy minister also visiting China earlier this year and the two countries signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of tourism.
'Common ground'
Many countries, including EU members, want to attract Chinese firms looking to invest in Europe, and Türkiye has only just started following suit, said Ceren Ergenç, an expert on China-Türkiye relations at the Centre for European Policy Studies.
But obstacles remain, she said, citing an EU legal framework on foreign subsidies that could make it harder for China to "use Türkiye as a springboard for Europe."
"In the past, Chinese companies considered that the economic situation in Türkiye was not reliable enough, and preferred Hungary or Poland," the researcher said.
However, China and Türkiye's warming relations are based on mutual interests, according to former diplomat Gülru Gezer.
"Ankara and Beijing share common ground, including a multipolar worldview. Their relations will continue to develop in the foreseeable future," she said.