China is ready to strengthen strategic alignment with Turkey to counter “power politics” on the international stage, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Beijing on Tuesday.
“The two sides agreed on the need for close strategic communication … to safeguard the common interests of developing countries,” Wang said, according to a Chinese statement.
Wang said Beijing was willing to continuously expand cooperation with Ankara in economics, trade, energy, infrastructure, and the hi-tech and digital economy.
“China is willing to continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the Turkish side within the framework of the United Nations and the Group of 20, to oppose all forms of hegemony and power politics, and to maintain the stability of the global supply chain,” he was quoted as saying.
The talks came on the second day of Fidan’s three-day trip to China.
Earlier on Tuesday, Fidan met Vice-President Han Zheng, telling him that Ankara was ready to have close high-level exchanges with Beijing.
According to a Chinese statement, Fidan told Han that Turkey adhered to the one-China principle and “will not allow activities in Turkey that undermine China’s territorial integrity”.
Fidan is expected to visit the cities of Urumqi and Kashgar in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region before wrapping up his trip on Wednesday, according to Turkish broadcaster TRT.
If the trip is confirmed, Fidan would be the most senior Turkish official to visit the region since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was there as prime minister in April 2012.
Fidan began the trip with talks with security chief Chen Wenqing and by attending a dialogue organised by the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG), a Beijing think tank.
During the dialogue, Fidan said the China-backed Brics grouping could offer Turkey a “good alternative” to the European Union to boost its economic prospects.
He said that while Turkey was in a customs union with Brussels, it was also exploring new opportunities for cooperation with several partners in different platforms such as Brics, an association of 10 emerging economies.
“Certainly, we would like to become a member of Brics. So we’ll see how it goes this year,” he said.
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