China’s new Foreign Minister Wang Yi makes first visit to Turkey to bolster ties

Asia-Pacific, Middle East, News July 28, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi traveled to Turkiye on his first foreign visit since taking office this week. In Ankara, he held meetings with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan as well as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to strengthen China-Turkiye strategic cooperation.

China’s veteran diplomat Wang Yi was reappointed as the country’s foreign minister after his predecessor Qin Gang was removed from office following his one-month-long absence from duties. Beijing has not provided any specific reason behind Qin Gang’s removal from the office, seven months after his appointment.

Apart from playing the role of Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi is also the director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

During his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on July 26, 2023, Wang Yi emphasized that Beijing was ready to enhance mutual strategic trust and deepen cooperation with Turkey, as he called on the two sides to utilize bilateral cooperation.

The two foreign ministers also discussed further development of economic ties and agreed to intensify cooperation, aligning the Belt and Road Initiative and the Middle Corridor initiatives.

Minister of Foreign Affairs @HakanFidan met with Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of #China Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, in #Ankara. 🇹🇷🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/WE6p5FZ4nK
— Turkish MFA (@MFATurkiye) July 26, 2023

Fidan said that Ankara is willing to work with China to give full play to the role of the intergovernmental cooperation committee between the two countries. The two foreign ministers also spoke about the developing situation of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Both China and Turkey have played a major role in trying to establish peace between Moscow and Kyiv. Turkey has hosted peace talks between the two sides while Beijing published a 12-point peace plan, calling for the protection of civilians and the sovereignty of all countries to be respected. The United States and several other Western countries have been urging China to use its influence on Russia to seek an end to the war in Ukraine.

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Fidan and Wang also spoke about the development of economic and trade relations between Turkey and China. Their discussions included “harmonization of the initiatives of (China’s) Belt and Road and Middle Corridor”, as well as nuclear energy, and agriculture, the ministry said.

Wang Yi meets Erdogan in Ankara

Wang Yi held a one-on-one meeting with Turkish President Erdogan. During his talks with Wang, Erdogan voiced hope that Turkey and China would intensify their cooperation as both countries play important roles in global and regional issues, Erdogan’s office said in a statement released after the meeting.

According to the Chinese state-owned media outlets, President Erdogan emphasized Turkey’s adherence to the one-China principle and said his country does not see China’s development as a threat. Wang conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s greetings to Erdogan. He told the Turkish president that China congratulates him on his re-election and supports Turkey in upholding independence and pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions.

Turkish President Erdogan with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi — ^{Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Ankara, Turkiye, on July 26, 2023. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (right) is also present. (Image Credit: Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications)}

President Erdogan expressed his country’s desire for stronger collaboration between the two countries that have a crucial role in global and regional matters. They also discussed ways to achieve sustainable bilateral trade and issues of mutually increasing investments.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the way forward on the first meeting of the High-Level Working Group for efforts to align China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Türkiye’s Middle Corridor Initiative.