Chinese Foreign Minister Visits Türkiye, Strengthening Bilateral Cooperation

On July 26, Mr. Wang Yi arrived in Turkey - the beginning of his first foreign trip after returning to the position of head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Trung Quốc, Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ thảo luận tăng cường hợp tác trên nhiều lĩnh vực

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye on July 26. (Source: Reuters)

Chinese Foreign Minister and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 26.

At the meeting, President Erdogan asked Wang Yi to convey his greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping. At the same time, affirming that Türkiye and China are both countries with global influence, the leader said that cooperation between the two countries goes beyond the bilateral framework and the two sides need to further strengthen cooperation.

Besides, Mr. Erdogan also made it clear that Ankara adheres to the "One China" principle and does not consider Beijing's development a threat.

In addition, President Erdogan called for strengthening the promotion of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Türkiye's Middle Corridor Initiative, expressing his desire to hold the first meeting between the two countries' high-level working groups on these initiatives.

For his part, Foreign Minister Wang Yi also conveyed President Xi Jinping's greetings to President Erdogan. Wang Yi also congratulated President Erdogan on his re-election and supported Türkiye in maintaining its independence and pursuing a development path in accordance with its national conditions.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to discuss strengthening bilateral economic and trade ties, the BRI, along with nuclear energy, agriculture, civil aviation, culture and tourism.

The two officials also mentioned the situation of the Uyghur community in China's Xinjiang autonomous region, and discussed current hot issues such as developments in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the global financial system.

After concluding his tour of Türkiye, the Chinese Foreign Minister will visit Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. This is Wang Yi's first overseas visit after returning to the position of Foreign Minister, replacing Qin Gang.

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