土耳其驻华大使：期待加强技术创新合作

Turkey and China, the current representatives of the two most ancient civilizations and once the Western and the Eastern gates of the Silk Road, enjoy a long history of friendship. The two countries’ paths have crossed once again today with the Belt and Road Initiative. The ties between Turkey and China have been elevated to “strategic cooperative relations” as of 2010. Within this framework, a new model of partnership based on mutual political trust, win-win cooperation and increased connectivity is being established.

President Erdogan and President Xi have met two times in July and November, respectively on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS and the G20 summits. The two presidents had in-depth exchange of views on a wide range of issues and reached important consensus for the growth of the bilateral relations. Under the guidance of the two presidents, bilateral cooperation in the various fields has accelerated.

One of the most important developments regarding our relations in this year was the telephone conversation between the two presidents. The fact that President Xi has been among the leaders in which President Erdogan conducts phone diplomacy has offered and will continue to offer a vast amount of crucial  opportunities to the two countries in terms of addressing in depth both the bilateral relations and the global and regional affairs.

Political relations, people to people exchanges, cultural contacts, economic and trade co-operation and Belt and Road Initiative constitute the key pillars of the bilateral relations.

After resuming my duties as the Ambassador in December 2017, my colleagues and I have been on an intensive pace to ensure that our relations with China, which we see as a valuable partner in the globally prominent Asia-Pacific region, develop steadily based on mutual friendship and trust.

With the acknowledgement that the 21st century is the “Asian Century”, several activities were undertaken to further improve our bilateral relations with China in all domains, namely political, economic and cultural. The number of activities undertaken by the Turkish Embassy and the Consulate Generals in China is already approaching 1.000 this year.

The determination of both sides to enhance the co-operation and to elevate the relationship to a new level has been well displayed within this year by a record number of mutual high-level visits.  In this regard, this year alone witnessed nine visits at the ministerial level and ten visits at the vice- ministerial level as well as visits at the level of Deputy Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament.
Sixty five official delegations from Turkey visited China within the last year on various occasions such as meetings, conferences, seminars and exhibitions. These visits yielded fruitful outcomes, namely twenty six agreement and co-operation MOUs were signed at the governmental level and by the private sector. Throughout the year, Turkish Cuisine weeks were held in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Many cultural activities were also carried out such as the Urfa Göbeklitepe Seminar and art exhibitions in Beijing.

We also celebrated 2018 as the Turkey Tourism Year in China with the attendance of the Turkish and Chinese Ministers of Culture and Tourism in the official opening and closing ceremonies. In the first nine months of this year, Chinese citizens visiting Turkey increased by 84 per cent compared to the same period of the last year. We are expecting a historic record at the end of this year with more than 400 thousand Chinese tourists visiting Turkey.

Last but not least, the agreement regarding the reciprocal establishment of Cultural Centers, signed in May 2017 between two countries, has entered into force. Now, we are working on establishing a Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center in Beijing which will contribute to improve the friendship between Turkey and China. It will also increase the cultural exchange and provide services to the Chinese who want to have education in the fields of Turkish language, culture and art. Education, especially exchange of students and academic fellows is also an important tool to enhance people to people exchanges. To this end, we have made a great effort regarding the reciprocal scholarships granted.

As regards the economic relations, China is a key trade partner for Turkey. Today, China is Turkey’s largest trade partner in Asia and the second largest in the world. Bilateral trade between Turkey and China, which was 1,1 billion in 2001, is 26.3 billion USD as end of 2017. However, there is a trade deficit on China’s behalf which corresponds to 27.2 % of Turkey’s total trade deficit. We need to create a more balanced trade structure and reach a higher volume of trade.

Turkey’s purpose is two-fold: one the one hand increasing exports to China and narrowing the trade deficit to the possible extent, and on the other hand attracting more Chinese investment.

Against this background, we want to cooperate in a larger scale than what Turkey and China’s existing trade relations offer. We would like to make Turkish exporters and producers more effective in the Chinese market. Therefore, Turkey attached great importance to the China International Import Expo in Shanghai EXPO and participated with a national pavilion with a large delegation headed by Deputy Minister of Trade. Forty three Turkish companies which have established a booth in the EXPO represented “Apparel, Accessories & Consumer Goods”, “Automobile”, “Consumer Electronics & Appliances”, “Food & Agricultural Products”, “High-end Intelligent Products” and “Trade in Services” sector. The Chinese visitors had a great interest in the products that our companies have displayed. Meanwhile, a CEO meeting was organized with the participation of nearly 40 Chinese companies where investment opportunities in Turkey were introduced.

I would like to reiterate that Turkey offers abundant opportunities in a variety of sectors for the Chinese investors. Total number of Chinese companies operating in Turkey reached to nearly 1.000. In fact, Chinese companies have already established successful businesses in sectors such as banking, construction of power plants, infrastructure, IT, mining, agriculture and transportation.

However, there exists an untapped potential. Turkey is one of the most dynamic economies in the world and certainly one of the most profitable places for doing business. Turkey, a G-20 member alongside China, is the 17th largest economy in the world and 6th largest in Europe with a high economic growth trend. Between 2002 and 2017, the average growth rate was 5.8 per cent. In 2017, the growth rate was 7.4 per cent, highest among G20 and second highest among the OECD countries.    
Secondly, having a large human capital consisting of young, educated and well-skilled labor makes Turkey one of the most dynamic economies in the world. The median age in Turkey is 31 and the population increases around 1 million each year.
Turkey also offers great advantages in terms of its proximity to major markets. Turkey has a strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa; 1.5 billion people and 2.4 trillion GDP in Europe, MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and Central Asia are only at a 4 hour flight distance. Therefore, it is a unique hub to manufacturing, exports and management. Besides, Customs Union with the EU alllows direct access to the EU Market with an extensive Free Trade Agreements network with the African, Middle East, South American and Balkan countries.

Turkey’s value has been appreciated by foreign investors with increasing direct investment flows to Turkey. For the 2003-2017 period, the cumulative FDI inflows have been 193 billion USD and the share of the European countries reached to 74 per cent. Taking into consideration Turkey’s geographical location and economic capabilities in the broader region, Chinese investors can also reach the said markets through Turkey.

On top of these, investors benefit from very advantageous investment incentives which vary based on the scale, sector and the geographical location of the investment.  Incentives in the form of tax relief, discounts on the social security premiums of workers, land allocation or even financial support are offered. The Incentives Program is in effect since 2012, and it has proven very successful in encouraging FDI inflows.

Turkey welcomes investors from China for projects related to infrastructure, port, airport, channel, railway, subway, energy, automobile, mechanical industry, banking and telecommunications.

I would like to emphasize that our goal is to shift production to high-value and high-technology products. In this respect, for the future of our relations, Turkey and China should also focus more on cooperation in the fields of technology and innovation. Information systems, pharmaceuticals, telecommunication, defense and aviation will be the fields of growth in the forthcoming years.

In the five years since its announcement in 2013, Belt and Road Initiative has transformed into one of the largest joint development projects in the history of mankind. BRI can serve as an essential mechanism for inclusive growth and development across the globe. At a time of disunity and ambiguity in the world, it will be a display of determination in taking forward a concrete proposal for advancing global interests.

The BRI has converging aspects with our longstanding efforts to revitalize the ancient Silk Road, namely with our initiative known as the “Middle Corridor”. The Middle Corridor being at the core of the BRI is a railroad project which follows the route from China to the Central Asian Republics, crossing the Caspian Sea and coming to Turkey through Azerbaijan and Georgia. When realized, it will create a complementary route to the existing corridors linking Europe and China.

The strategic importance of the “Middle Corridor” has been emphasized during the “BRI Forum” held in Beijing on 14-15 May 2017 and included in the Joint Communiqué released after the Leader’s Round Table Meeting within the margins of the Forum. 

Turkey has already started delivering on concrete projects in the fields of transportation, logistics, energy and trade for reviving the ancient Silk Road. For example, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) Railroad became operational on October 30th last year.

Since 2002, Turkey has also completed or started mega infrastructure projects worth over USD 250 billion such as the New Istanbul Airport, Marmaray Subway, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Eurasia Tunnel connecting Europe and Asia.

Our next target is to complete Edirne-Kars High-Speed Railway Project to contribute connectivity of Asia and Europe. Another mega project is the third nuclear power plant in Turkey. We have been negotiating these projects with our Chinese friends. Turkey seeks to have a new momentum in relations between China and Turkey by completing these negotiations within 2019.
In brief, all of the above developments in different fields have provided solid opportunities for fruitful cooperation between Turkey and China and our countries are more in tune for contributing constructively to global affairs. Our common history and the visions that we share will encourage us to exert more efforts for development.  May our two countries enjoy growing relations and deepened friendship.

⬆New airport in Turkey