Chinese, Turkish presidents meet in Astana

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Astana, Kazakhstan on Thursday.

Xi said the relationship between China and Türkiye has maintained a stable development momentum and that as large developing countries and members of the Global South, they share a broad consensus in seeking national development and revitalization and maintaining principles of international relations.

Both sides should support each other in safeguarding core interests, continuously strengthen political mutual trust, promote high-level mutually beneficial cooperation, and push the strategic cooperative relationship between China and Türkiye toward greater development, he said.

China supports Türkiye in pursuing a development path that suits its national conditions and encourages both sides to expand trade, the Chinese president said.

China also supports Chinese enterprises in increasing investment in Türkiye, steadily advances cooperation in infrastructure projects and encourages more Chinese citizens to travel to Türkiye, Xi added.

He said China and Türkiye have many common or similar views on issues, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Ukraine crisis, and should maintain close communication. 

China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Türkiye within multilateral frameworks, such as the United Nations and the G20, Xi said.

Erdogan said Türkiye firmly adheres to the one-China principle and respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Türkiye welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in Türkiye, welcomes more Chinese tourists to visit Türkiye and hopes to further strengthen the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative with Türkiye's development strategy, expanding cooperation in economic and trade, infrastructure, clean energy and other fields, Erdogan added.

He said Türkiye appreciates China's significant contributions to promoting world peace, including maintaining a fair and just stance on the Palestinian issue, and hopes to strengthen multilateral communication and cooperation with China.