Ankara and Beijing are currently working to advance high-level diplomatic contacts and economic cooperation, according to the Turkish ambassador to China.
"Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and China may intensify in the coming period. We continue our efforts for high-level visits at the ministerial and presidential levels. Our desire is to increase and intensify these visits," Ismail Hakkı Musa told Anadolu Agency (AA) at the Türkiye-China Business Conference in Istanbul on Thursday.
He recalled that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met during Erdoğan's visit to China in 2019 and later at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
"Relations are developing in a wide range of political, economic, trade, cultural, scientific and academic fields, in a progressively deeper manner. The most rapidly developing part is, of course, economic and trade relations. The bilateral trade volume reached around $45 billion," he added.
Musa said Türkiye currently faces a trade deficit in terms of trade volume, but he emphasized the importance of promoting Chinese investments and tourism to establish a balanced and sustainable trade structure. "When a Chinese person visits Türkiye, they can find both similarities and differences. This is the charm of Türkiye. Tourism activities reached their peak in 2019, with around 560,000 Chinese tourists visiting Türkiye. However, this is a very low number, and we want to increase it," he said.
He said Türkiye's Middle Corridor initiative, which traverses the Caspian Sea region, and China's Belt and Road Initiative, which Türkiye supports, will be aligned and coordinated through a mutually beneficial approach. Musa also said that it is wrong to view Türkiye's improved relations with Western countries as a sign of its distancing itself from Russia and China, emphasizing that such subjective assessments are influenced by hidden agendas.
"We know from our experiences that the view of the West toward our country does not always align with the realities, dynamics and policies of our country. We should not see China or any other country through the lens of the West. Türkiye is now a country that develops policies by focusing on itself.
"It is a country that implements its desired foreign policy vision without seeking permission from anyone. With a 360-degree openness in its foreign policy understanding, we look at the world from our own perspective, and strive to understand the world in Turkish," he said, referring to the tensions between the U.S. and China and the polarized climate in the world.
He also emphasized that there is no polarization when it comes to commercial relations between countries. "For example, look at China's relations with the European Union. Bilateral trade with European countries amounts to a total of $1 trillion. The same applies to trade relations with the United States. Where are those considerations, competition, enmity? This understanding reduces relations between countries to simple patterns," he added.
Musa pointed out that China has taken significant steps in global development, global security and global civilization, illustrating that China's influence extends beyond its economic prowess and encompasses various political initiatives.
"Türkiye is one of these countries that contribute to this process of change, as is China. If the parameters of the current order are indeed changing, which is correct, and if there is a search for a new order, which is also correct, then those who have something to say to the world can claim to have a say in building a new order," he said.
"This is a saying that we really need to understand well. Countries that can emerge with discourses that not only serve their own country but also the welfare of their region and humanity beyond that can claim to be part of a new order and have a claim to influence in this order," he said, regarding the concept of "Türkiye is greater than Türkiye."
