China - Turkey Relations: Opportunities and Limits of Cooperation in Eurasia

The existing commercial relations between imperial China and the Ottoman Empire: the rich collection of Chinese artifacts displayed in Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul is proof of this. Given the geographical distance between the two empires, political and diplomatic relations were quasi non-existent during centuries and the paths of the two countries have never really crossed. It was not until the late 19th century that the Ottoman Empire and China had more regular relations, although indirectly.

There is one other factor which is noteworthy while studying Sino-Ottoman relations in the 19th century: the Uyghur people. Relations, although distant and sporadic, between the Ottoman Empire and the Uyghurs in Xinjiang began as early as the 19th century.

The Republic of China, proclaimed in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution, wished to establish diplomatic contacts with the Republic of Turkey, proclaimed in 1923. Chiang Kai-shek, who will later become China’s second president, expressed this wish in 1924 to his Turkish counterpart in the Soviet capital, while he was serving as the Chinese Ambassador to Moscow. As for Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic, he was interested in Turkey as early as the 1920s, too, while he was leading the communist uprising in China against the nationalist government

Turkey remained neutral during most of the Second World War, but definitively joined the Western camp by the end of the war. After having received American military and economic assistance through the Marshall Plan, Turkey became a
member of the Council of Europe in 1949 and of NATO in 1952.

The People’s Republic of China is today among the three most important trading partners of Turkey with Germany and Russia. The growing trade relations between Turkey and China suffer, however, from a structural problem, that of a huge trade deficit in favor of China, which is obviously not unique to Turkish-Chinese commercial relations.

China is mostly interested in Turkey’s mineral resources: marble, travertine, chromium, copper, iron and boric acid.

It was not until 2016 that the Turkish government developed a first coherent action plan with concrete objectives to stimulate trade relations between the two countries. According to the plan, Turkey seeks to increase the trade volume of
Turkish food products, to establish free trade zones for Chinese companies in Turkey,

the 1st New Silk Roads summit held in Beijing in May 2017 at the highest
level, and the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed personally his wish to take full advantage of this project to his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping. 

The first contacts of Turkish and Chinese military officials took place in the 1990s, even if there was no real cooperation in this area. However, Turkey’s desire to procure Chinese weapons appeared right after the Cold War. An agreement for the sale of a Chinese missile launching system, WS-1, was concluded in 1997, followed by a second contract concluded in 1999 for the purchase of Chinese short-range ballistic missiles, the B-611s. These were modest transactions, yet first of their kind. It was not until 2010s that
military relations between the two countries widened in areas other than just trade of military equipment.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a regional economic and security cooperation organization established in 2001. It brings together
China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, along with India and Pakistan since 2017.

Since Turkey is an attractive tourist destination given its cultural and natural treasures, along with its Mediterranean climate. Therefore, Turkey aims to take advantage of the growing Chinese tourism market.

Although the Department of Sinology of Ankara University was established in 1935, studies on China and on Chinese language are quite limited in Turkey. Nowadays, two Turkish public universities, Erciyes (Kayseri) and Istanbul Universities offer undergraduate Chinese language and literature programs, respectively recruiting 50 and 40 new students each year.

The Uyghur people and the Turks, the presence of a Uyghur diaspora in Turkey, established in the country since the beginning of the 20th century, makes Turkey a player directly involved in this problem. Even if, regarding the Uyghur issue, China remains particularly vigilant about the Turkic-speaking countries of Central Asia, Turkey, too, has been in the sights of the Chinese authorities since a very long time.

Turkey’s perception on the Uyghurs as distant relatives arouses concerns among Chinese officials. It is correct to claim that the Uyghur issue adds a political dimension that cannot be ignored while talking about Turkish-Chinese relations as a whole, that is to say, a dimension of domestic policy both for Turkey (sensitivity of the public opinion) and for China (fears related to territorial integrity and national security)

 The aggravating factor of Turkey’s geographical proximity to this region. China’s political and diplomatic positions are not always compatible with those of Turkey, and risk transforming the Middle East into an additional ground of clash of interests, unless Beijing and Ankara manage to develop joint and coordinated actions.

Relations between China and African countries intensified since the end of the Cold War. In addition to economic and political relations, a military dimension is becoming apparent, notably with the inauguration of a Chinese military base in Djibouti in 2017, China’s first permanent military installation outside Asia.

Turkey benefits, like China, from a positive image among African nations, because Turkey has never been a colonial power there. Moreover, Turkey shares a common religion with around 20 African countries out of 54.

the Middle East is in line with China’s new proactive foreign policy, Beijing is more influential in the region with every passing year. The Middle East has always been a major concern for Turkey, given its common borders with Syria, Iraq and Iran, without neglecting its military presence in Cyprus which reinforces its role in the geopolitical equation of the Eastern Mediterranean.

China and Turkey cannot always be on the same wavelength in the Middle East
due to the incompatibility of their fundamental interests. It is conceivable that Turkey and China will compete in the supply and delivery of energy resources, especially those in Iraq where China has signed numerous exploitation and exploration contracts.

the Sino-Turkish relations provides an additional perspective to understand the evolution of the balances of power in the international system. While the
world’s geopolitical center of gravity keeps moving towards Asia to the detriment of North America and Europe, especially on the economic level, it is not surprising that Turkey is trying, like many other countries, to strengthen its
relationship with the East Asian giant.