Since the establishment of a strategic cooperative relationship between China and Turkey in 2010, cooperation in various fields has progressed in an orderly manner with fruitful results. The two sides have supported each other in the fight against the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and vaccine cooperation has been fruitful, which has deepened the friendship between the two peoples. The two countries have promoted strategic cooperation based on mutual respect, which has formed a positive influence on a regional and global scale, and brought more benefits to the two countries and their peoples.

Practical cooperation continues to deepen

In 2015, China and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding on connecting the Belt and Road Initiative and Turkey's "middle corridor", which injected new impetus into the deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation and the sharing of cooperation results between the two countries. In recent years, China-Turkey pragmatic cooperation has yielded fruitful results.

In the southern Turkish city of Adana, the Hunutru Power Station, a modern power plant contracted by a Chinese company and using ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generation technology, was erected on the Mediterranean coast. The project plans to build two 660 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power generating units, and simultaneously build flue gas desulfurization and SCR denitrification devices. The emissions are better than EU standards and gas turbine standards. The first unit is scheduled to be put into operation in March 2022. Suleiman Alban, Governor of Adana Province, said that the construction of the Hunutru Power Station is progressing smoothly. China's pragmatic cooperation has demonstrated resilience and great potential."

The Kumport Wharf in Turkey is an important port along the Belt and Road. After the Chinese-funded enterprise consortium acquired 65% of the shares of the terminal, it retained all the operation teams and employees of the earthmoving company, implemented localized management, and continued to increase container throughput and revenue.

A number of large-scale projects undertaken by Chinese-funded enterprises such as the second phase of the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway and the Ankara 500MW Photovoltaic Industrial Park have successively landed in the country, creating a large number of local employment opportunities.

A few days ago, the China-Europe train departed from Taiyuan, Shanxi, loaded with daily necessities, machinery and equipment, and arrived at Mersin, the largest port city in southern Turkey. Turkey’s ambassador to China Emin Yonan said that the railway interconnection between Turkey and China will accelerate the economic activities of the Eurasian continent, thereby strengthening the bilateral economic relations between the two countries. Through freight trains, Turkish products will appear on Chinese shelves more frequently, and Turkish merchants will also join Chinese e-commerce platforms to explore online sales channels.

Over the years, Chinese technology companies have accelerated their investment and construction of factories in Turkey. Huawei has set up its second largest overseas R&D center in Turkey, and smartphone brands Xiaomi, vivo, and Transsion have also invested in factories in Turkey. Faced with the impact of the epidemic, China has actively adopted various measures to increase imports from Turkey. Turkish cherries, pistachios, dairy products, aquatic products and poultry meat and other high-quality agricultural products have been welcomed by Chinese consumers...

In 2020, China-Turkey bilateral trade in goods reached US$24.08 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15.6%. China’s investment in Turkey has grown steadily. As of the end of 2020, China’s total direct investment in Turkey has reached US$1.92 billion. In 2020, direct investment in Turkey has reached US$55.93 million, an increase of 338.3% year-on-year. Turkmen Vice Foreign Minister Gilan said that under the epidemic situation, Turkmen-China trade cooperation has bucked the trend, showing the strong vitality of the economic and trade relations between the two countries and becoming a model of cooperation between countries around the world.

Humanities exchanges are getting closer

In recent years, personnel exchanges between China and Turkey have continued to grow, and the enthusiasm of the people of the two countries to understand each other's language and culture has increased. The Turkish boy Zach particularly likes Chinese martial arts, so he chose to major in Chinese at the university. "This decision changed my destiny-the supply of relevant talents exceeds demand, and I have a lot of options to find a job."

At present, there are 4 Confucius Institutes in Turkey, which have become a new window for Turkish people to learn Chinese and understand Chinese culture; more than 10 universities in each of the two countries have opened Turkish or Chinese majors. At the beginning of this year, Turkey's Baiyangxi Middle School and the Confucius Institute at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey signed a cooperation agreement, and Chinese teaching entered the local middle school classroom.

China and Turkey have concluded 25 pairs of friendly provinces and cities. In 2016, China actively participated in the Antalya Expo in Turkey, and the "Chinese Garden" was permanently retained in Antalya. In 2018, Turkey hosted the "Tourism Year" in China to attract more Chinese tourists to Turkey. The number of Chinese tourists who entered the country increased by 60% that year and exceeded 420,000 in 2019. The continuous expansion of exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, education, tourism and sports between the two countries has laid a solid foundation of public opinion for the development of China-Turkey relations.

Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Yavuz said that Turkey and China have a long history and splendid culture, and they are making great strides on the road of modernization. "Turkish people love China and are full of interest in China, which makes the people of the two countries know and blend together. I believe that the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries will deepen and develop simultaneously with political and economic cooperation."

Working together to fight the epidemic is fruitful

In the face of the sudden new crown pneumonia epidemic, China and Turkey have watched and helped each other to overcome the current difficulties. They have carried out fruitful cooperation in the provision of medical supplies, sharing of anti-epidemic experience, and new crown vaccines, and joined hands to build a "firewall" against the epidemic.

At the critical moment of China's fight against the epidemic, Turkey urgently provided two batches of urgently needed medical supplies such as masks and protective clothing to Wuhan. After the outbreak in Turkey, the Chinese side immediately assisted the Turkish side in docking with qualified Chinese pharmaceutical companies and provided convenience for the Turkish side to purchase testing reagents, therapeutic drugs, and medical equipment in China. The Chinese side has also organized a number of domestic experts and medical workers to share experience and business exchanges with Turkish counterparts through video, and provide the new crown vaccine to Turkey and prepare for joint production of the vaccine.

In January 2021, Turkish President Erdogan was vaccinated with the new crown vaccine developed by China Kexing Company, demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine to the Turkish people and the world with practical actions. Turkish Minister of Health Koja said: “In difficult times, the international community’s solidarity and cooperation are particularly important. The widespread vaccination of the new crown vaccine produced by China in Turkey will help promote the development of bilateral relations and continue to deepen the strategic cooperation between the two countries.”

At present, the relationship between China and Turkey is at an important historical stage of carrying forward the past and opening up the future, facing more development opportunities and broader development space. China and Turkey will accelerate the docking of development strategies, promote the steady and long-term strategic cooperation relationship, and work together towards a more brilliant future.  Editor/Tian Zengpeng