Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara, Türkiye, on Wednesday. 

China supports Türkiye in upholding independence and taking a development path suited to its own national conditions, said Wang, who was in Türkiye for a one-day visit. He also held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

As both representatives of emerging markets and major developing countries, China and Türkiye share extensive common interests and have no fundamental conflict of interests, Wang said.

Noting that China-Türkiye relations present broad prospects for development, Wang said China attaches great importance to bilateral relations and stands ready to work with Türkiye to support and take care of each other on the road of national rejuvenation and on issues concerning each other's core interests.

He added that China will work with Türkiye to focus on maintaining and deepening political mutual trust to promote China-Türkiye strategic cooperation to a new level.

China is willing to work with Türkiye to make good use of the intergovernmental cooperation committee mechanism to fully restart practical cooperation in various fields, Wang said, vowing to promote the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve a higher level of mutual benefits and win-win results and make positive contributions to promoting world economic recovery.

Erdogan said that Türkiye and China are countries with global influence, and the importance of cooperation between the two countries transcends the bilateral sphere.

Türkiye adheres to the one-China principle and believes that China's development is not a threat, he stressed.

Türkiye is willing to intensify high-level exchanges with China, strengthen the synergy between Türkiye's Middle Corridor initiative and China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and deepen cooperation in the fields of trade, energy and tourism, bringing Türkiye-China relations to a new height, Erdogan said.

Türkiye does not support NATO to intensify its campaign in the Asia-Pacific region, and is willing to maintain communication and coordination with China on international and regional issues such as the Ukraine crisis, he added.

(Cover: Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Türkiye, July 26, 2023. /Chinese Foreign Ministry)