Türkiye, China back two-state solution, Palestine's UN membership

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in an official visit to Beijing has held bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Fidan during a joint news conference on Tuesday said the bilateral ties will contribute to regional and global peace, as well as prosperity and stability.

He also stressed the importance of Kashgar and Urumqi cities in China, emphasising their role in the Sino-Turkish and Sino-Islamic world.

Two-state solution for Gaza

Referring to the Israeli war that has been ongoing in the besieged Palestinian enclave since October 7 of last year, both leaders discuss the lasting solution to Palestine.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for "strengthening cooperation" with Türkiye for a lasting solution to Palestine, reiterating the call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“The way out of the Palestine problem is a two-state solution. China and Türkiye support Palestine's membership in the UN,” Wang told.

The Chinese foreign minister said Beijing and Ankara “should accelerate efforts to reach a just, lasting solution to the Palestinian issue as soon as possible by strengthening coordination.”

“China, Türkiye should strengthen cooperation, oppose all forms of hegemony and power politics, raise global governance to a fair level,” said Wang.

Strategic cooperation between two countries

The Turkish foreign minister was received by Han Zheng, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice president.

Han told Fidan: “China is willing to work with Türkiye to fully implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries.”

The Chinese vice president also expressed Beijing’s willingness to “enhance political mutual trust, strengthen the synergy of development strategies, promote the high-quality B&R (Belt and Road) cooperation, and provide staunch support to each other in safeguarding their respective core interests to propel the strategic cooperation between the two sides to a new height.”

Following engagements in Beijing, the Turkish foreign minister is expected to visit the Chinese cities of Urumqi and Kashgar later on Tuesday, where he will stay until Wednesday.

Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and China were established in 1971, and bilateral relations were elevated to the level of "strategic cooperation" in 2010.

Global supply chains

Fidan is on a three-day official visit to China where he held high-level talks with Chinese officials since Monday.

Speaking in Beijing on Monday, which he was visiting at the invitation of his counterpart Wang Yi, Fidan also said that Türkiye and China both play significant roles in protecting the global supply chain.

He pointed to China's status as the world's second-largest economy and its contribution to driving global economic growth. He also highlighted Türkiye's strong production capacity, young and dynamic population, advanced infrastructure, political stability and logistic capabilities.

As he was delivering his speech on Türkiye-China Relations in the Changing World Order at the Center for China and Globalisation, Fidan discussed the Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor Initiative, a trade route that will start from Türkiye and reach China via the Caucasus, Caspian Sea and Central Asia, parallel to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Middle Corridor initiative

Fidan noted that the initiative, also called the Middle Corridor, provides a land route approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,242 miles) shorter than the sea route between Europe and Asia, reducing travel time by 15 days.

He also emphasised the Middle Corridor's benefits in uninterrupted and rapid access to the Black Sea and Mediterranean basins as well as other regions of Europe and Africa. Fidan also pointed to a memorandum of understanding signed between Türkiye and China in 2015 to harmonise and enhance cooperation between the two initiatives.

Underlining the importance of aligning the Middle Corridor with China's Belt and Road Initiative, especially given the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel's war on Gaza, he noted that the project has become even more crucial amid increasing geopolitical risks.

Fidan underscored the importance of synergy between the Middle Corridor and other initiatives like the Development Road project spanning Iraq from its southern Basra province to Türkiye in the north. He suggested that this could link the economic power centers of Eurasia for prosperous regional integration.

He cited Türkiye's Customs Union agreement with the European Union and its pursuit of new opportunities for cooperation with different partners in platforms like the BRICS bloc.

He said he would attend a BRICS summit in Russia next week and expressed Ankara's support for cooperation and multilateralism in Asia as well as in Africa.

Türkiye-China ties

Fidan highlighted the rich historical and cultural interactions shaping ties between Türkiye and China, referring to them as "two great civilisations."

He emphasised that these interactions form the strong and lasting foundation of their partnership, citing significant cultural and commercial exchanges facilitated by the historical Silk Road.

He noted that the Ottomans sent many envoys to China carrying Ottoman rifles, which could be considered a form of "technology transfer" during that period.

Expressing satisfaction with the rapid development of bilateral relations, Fidan said this collaboration is built on a solid foundation.

Referring to the designation of the two countries' relationship as a "strategic partnership" in 2010, Fidan pointed out the intentions of both sides to expand this cooperation.

China: Türkiye's largest trading partner in Asia

He underscored Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to China in 2019 and the emphasis on this partnership during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Samarkand in September 2022.

Fidan further said that China is Türkiye's largest trading partner in Asia and the third-largest in the world, with the bilateral trade volume surpassing $48 billion in 2023, a record high.

He also acknowledged the trade imbalance between the two nations in favor of China and underlined the importance of exploring new areas to balance bilateral trade and ensure the sustainability of commercial relations.

Fidan also highlighted the crucial role of China's direct investments in economic ties, emphasising that Türkiye provides an investment-friendly environment for foreign companies.

"Türkiye’s geostrategic position, along with our extensive commercial ties, provides free and easy access to a market of approximately 1.5 billion people and a value of $28 trillion, extending from Europe to the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. All of these are within a flight distance of four hours," he said.

He further stated that Türkiye is playing an increasingly significant role in addressing global challenges with proactive and results-oriented foreign policies, similar to China.

Humanitarian tragedy in Rafah

Fidan stressed that while Palestinians have long been suffering, this reached an unprecedented level after October 7 last year.

"Gaza was once referred to as the world's largest open-air prison. Now it has become the world's largest open-air graveyard. There is currently no place in Gaza that could be considered safe.

"The humanitarian tragedy unfolding before our eyes has worsened with Israel's attack on (the city of) Rafah," he added.

Fidan said that Türkiye has been striving to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, prevent the conflict from spilling over into other regions and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid since Israel's attacks began in October last year.

He further said that Ankara, like Beijing, has highlighted the necessity of an independent, sovereign and geographically contiguous State of Palestine with its capital in East Jerusalem based on the 1967 borders within the framework of a two-state solution.

On the Russia-Ukraine war, Fidan said diplomatic channels were also in use here to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

"Ending the Russia-Ukraine War through a ceasefire and achieving a lasting and fair peace agreement is among our foreign policy priorities," he underlined.

Terror activities, peace efforts in region

Fidan underscored the importance of combating terrorism to achieve lasting peace and security in the region, asserting that Ankara uses military, economic, diplomatic and other means to eliminate terrorist groups like Daesh, the PKK, its Syrian branch the YPG, and the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO).

Highlighting the PKK and PKK/YPG as the most destabilising actors in their region and pointing out their continued attacks against Türkiye from Iraq and Syria, he drew attention to the separatist aims of these groups.

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

FETO and its US-based leader Fethullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in which 252 people waere killed and 2,734 wounded in Türkiye.

Gulen has long lived in the US state of Pennsylvania. Since the 2016 coup attempt, Turkish leaders have sought the extradition of Gulen, but US officials have not approved this, saying that what Türkiye submitted falls short of the standard required. The refusal to extradite Gulen has long been a thorn in the side of Turkish-US relations.

Underscoring Türkiye's efforts to prevent Syria from becoming a haven for terrorist organisations, Fidan said: "We support the resolution of the conflict through a political process based on the territorial integrity and unity of Syria.

"In addition, we work to encourage the voluntary, safe and dignified return of Syrians to their country," he added.

Fidan noted that Türkiye's relations with Central Asian countries are one of the fundamental aspects of its foreign policy, adding that Ankara continues to pursue an agenda of expanded cooperation in various fields with each of these nations.

Cooperation within Turkic states

He pointed to multilateral cooperation within the Organisation of Turkic States and said: "Through the organisation, we work to strengthen regional connectivity, accelerate economic integration and elevate political, economic and social standards in our societies."

Fidan delivered a speech on Türkiye-China Relations in the Changing World Order on the first day of his visit to Beijing on Monday, his ministry said in a statement.

He met in Beijing with Chen Wenqing, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the head of its Commission for Political and Legal Affairs, the ministry said in a separate post on X.

Earlier on Monday, the Turkish foreign minister arrived in the Chinese capital for a three-day official visit at the invitation of his counterpart Wang Yi, who visited Türkiye last July.

This was Fidan's first visit to China as foreign minister, a position he assumed last June.