Hürriyet – Türkiye’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan envisioned a railway connecting Türkiye and China on the last day of his visit to China, reviving the historic ‘silk road’ as commercial and cultural ties between the two emerging nations get stronger.
Speaking to CEOs of China’s leading companies at a meeting organized by the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT) in Shanghai, Erdogan emphasized the deep-rooted ties between Turkish and Chinese people and said that the trade route called the Silk Road, which began in China’s Xi'an and ended at Istanbul, echoed in today’s strengthening of Turkish-Chinese relations. “Türkiye and China are on opposite sides of the Asian continent but are similar in their fast growth. There is enormous trade potential between our countries.”, Türkiye’s Prime Minister told the high-profile gathering.
“A natural part of Europe and in close cooperation with the Middle East, the Balkans, Africa and the Caucasus, Türkiye holds great political, social and cultural as well as economic potential,” Erdogan noted, adding, “Through prudent policies, Türkiye emerged unscathed from the global financial crisis which deeply affected European economies. Our countries should have trade relations worthy of this potential.”
Erdogan asked for more Chinese investments in Türkiye and briefed the Chinese CEOs about Türkiye’s new investment incentive system. Calling on the executives of ZTE, Huawei, CGNPC, Shanghai Electric Power Generation, China Sun Energy, Sinosteel, China Southern Airlines and others, Erdogan said that Chinese companies should make use of the new incentives and take advantage of the investment opportunities in Türkiye.
Türkiye and China have a trade volume of USD 25 billion. The two countries have pledged to raise the amount to USD 50 billion by 2015 and USD 100 billion by 2020.