Turkish and Chinese companies sign on Wednesday contracts totalling almost $1.4 billion as the two countries boost their economic ties, Turkey's Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said. Zafer Caglayan, the Turkish economy minister, said deals worth $1.4 billion were signed between energy and other companies from the two countries in Istanbul.
A day earlier, Turkey and China signed a three-year currency swap deal worth $1.6 billion to enable bilateral trade in local currencies. The agreements include areas of exports, finance and energy investments. In a further sign of burgeoning ties between Turkey and China, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit China in the second week of April, Caglayan added.
Erdogan, who is recovering from a second intestinal surgery at his home in Istanbul, has not been abroad since late November when he underwent the first operation. A large number of Turkish businessmen are expected to join Erdogan during his visit, said the minister. In Istanbul, Xi, who is widely tipped to become China's next president, met with Turkey's business community on the last stop of a tour that has taken him to the United States and Ireland. On Tuesday, several co-operation deals in agriculture, finance and banking were signed to strengthen the strategic partnership between Turkey and China. Their respective central banks also inked a currency swap worth 10 billion yuan ($1.58 billion) as part of an effort by Beijing to promote international usage of its currency.
Turkey's deputy prime minister Ali Babacan urged Chinese banks to do more business in Turkey. On matters of trade and ambition, Turkey and China are kindred spirits. A visit to Turkey this week by China's vice president symbolised the growth of an alliance between two rising powers with booming economies but they differ sharply over how to end the bloodshed in Syria.
Xi Jinping presided over the signing of deals worth billions of dollars and delivered messages of harmony in Ankara, and then in Istanbul on Wednesday. Both sides sought, at least publicly, to downplay contentious issues, which also include a Chinese crackdown on the minority Uighurs, who are ethnically related to Turks.
"Both countries are quickly rising stars. One of them is a global power. The other is a regional power," said Murat Bilhan, a former Turkish ambassador and chairman of the foreign policy platform at Istanbul Kultur University. "This, of course, gives them some kind of look toward each other and they need to cooperate." But, there are challenges. Trade between Turkey and China soared over the past decade to $24 billion a year, though Chinese exports account for most of it. Turkish officials want to address this imbalance by securing more Chinese investment and tourism, as well as joint ventures in Turkey or other locations, such as Africa. "This is a very huge problem between Turkey and China," said Selcuk Colakoglu, head of Asia-Pacific studies at USAK, a research center based in Ankara.
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