Samarkand, 16 September 2022 (TDI): Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, met the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping in Samarkand.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of States Meeting in Samarkand.
President @RTErdogan, who is in Samarkand for the 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), met with President Xi Jinping of China. pic.twitter.com/bsRFjFIIEo
— Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye (@trpresidency) September 16, 2022
An Overview of SCO Summit
Uzbekistan is hosting the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of States Meeting in Samarkand. The member states will exchange thoughts on International and regional issues.
It is an Intergovernmental Organization founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001. China is a founding and leading member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The summit seeks to strengthen regional connectivity and boost economic cooperation between the states. The summit is the first in-person meeting of SCO leaders in three years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Today, members of the World’s largest regional Organization make up one-third of all land on earth and 40% of the Global population.
Also Read: Highlights from SCO Summit 2022
It is to note that following the 22nd SCO 2022 heads of state meeting, India is going to assume the SCO presidency. The country will preside over the SCO till 2023 and will also host the summit the following year.
China-Türkiye Relations
Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Türkiye and the People’s Republic of China were established in 1971. The 51st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries was celebrated in 2022.
Sino-Turkish relations have become more dynamic in the Xi Xinping era. China and Turkey upgraded their relationship to a “strategic partnership” in 2010, becoming political, economic, and security partners. The countries exchanged high-level visits to each other.
Former Prime Minister of China, Wen Jiabao paid a visit to Türkiye in October 2010. Moreover, Vice-President Xi Jinping visited Türkiye in February 2012. President Erdoğan, in his capacity as Prime Minister, also visited China on 8-11 April 2012.
Following the G20 Summit in Osaka, President Erdoğan paid an official visit to China on 2 July 2019. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, bilateral trade rose to $27.8 billion in 2016 and reached $21.66 billion in the first 10 months of 2017.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Chinese FDI in Türkiye in 2016 was valued at $642.3 million. The Turkish Ministry of Economy claims that there are 786 Chinese-origin companies registered in Türkiye as of 2017.
