[China and Türkiye]
Relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Türkiye maintained the momentum of steady development in 2013.
The two sides had frequent high-level exchanges and enjoyed deeper political mutual trust. In September, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, and Premier Li Keqiang met with Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan who was attending the Summer Davos in Dalian. In June, CPPCC Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament Han Qide visited Türkiye at the head of a delegation. In October, Liu Qibao, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of the Department of Publicity of the CPC Central Committee, led a delegation to Türkiye and met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
The two sides maintained communications at various levels and in various fields. In July, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum. In addition, a number of delegations including the CPC goodwill delegation and CPC young political leaders delegation visited Türkiye. On the Turkish side, President of the Supreme Court Ali Alkan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff General Hulusi Akar, Minister of Culture and Tourism Omer Celik, Minister of Agriculture Mehmet Mehdi Eker, President of the Presidency of Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly Volkan Bozkir and Chairman of the State Personnel Presidency Mehmet Ali Kumbuzoglu visited China respectively.
New progress was made in practical cooperation. The second phase of the high-speed railway project from Ankara to Istanbul undertaken by China Railway Construction Corporation was finished. China Tianchen Engineering Corporation won the bidding for the Kazan trona deposit project. The China South Railway Corporation was in the process of delivering trains for subway in Ankara. Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries deepened.
People-to-people exchanges witnessed major events one after another. Activities staged by China as the Guest of Honor during the Istanbul International Book Fair and the performance by the art troupe from Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region during Türkiye's Nevruz festival were warmly received by the Turkish public, and greatly boosted the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. Events under the 2013 Turkish Culture Year and the exhibition on Türkiye's Islamic Culture were successfully held in China. Delegations from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, Counsellors' Office of the State Council and China Center for Contemporary World Studies visited Türkiye. They had in-depth exchanges with famous local think tanks and scholars, producing good results.
The two countries also maintained sound cooperation under such multilateral frameworks as the United Nations, G20 and Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.
Editor: Galia
