Erdogan finds warm welcome, 'shared vision' in Beijing
Turkey and China put their differences aside at a summit to expand trade and investment, but Beijing’s treatment of its Uighur minority and competition over foreign markets still trouble the relationship.
ISTANBUL — Stronger cooperation between Turkey and China will boost global stability, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday during a visit to Beijing that comes as both nations’ relationships with the United States are tested over economic and diplomatic disputes.
Erdogan met Chinese President Xi Jinping following the G-20 summit in Japan, where the Turkish leader’s talks with US President Donald Trump failed to resolve a clash over Ankara’s purchase of Russian missiles that could incur painful US sanctions and has Washington worried its NATO partner is drifting away from the Western alliance.
"I believe that Turkey and China have great potential for strengthening cooperation," Erdogan said at the start of his meeting with Xi. "This visit to China happens during a period in which global peace and stability face trials. The strengthening of Turkey-China relations will provide large and diverse contributions to regional and global stability."
Turkey is part of China’s $1 trillion “Belt and Road” initiative, a massive infrastructure project involving some 70 countries in Europe, Africa and other parts of Asia that could reorient global trade toward the world’s second-largest economy. Turkey lies on the shortest route between China and Europe, wants to expand access to markets in the Middle East and Central Asia and stands to benefit from Chinese financing for transportation and energy projects.
