Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met in Beijing with Politburo member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

In joint statements after the meeting, Hakan Fidan called the Chinese and Turkish nations “the wealth and driving force of Asia” and said that bilateral relations continue to develop in accordance with the common understanding and vision of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

“Indeed, the grand vision proposed by the two political leaders is an important basis for institutionalizing and deepening China-Turkey relations in the modern era. Our goal is to take measures to increase the prosperity of our peoples on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit,” the Turkish foreign minister said, according to Anadolu news agency.

The head of Turkish diplomacy pointed out that Ankara fully supports China’s territorial integrity and political sovereignty, saying: “We are completely against armed terrorist movements directed against China. We would especially like to express here that we do not find it right the international efforts to cause unrest in China and stop its economic development.”

Referring to Xinjiang Uighur Turkic Autonomous Province in western China, Hakan Fidan said Kashgar and Urumqi are two ancient Turko-Islamic cities that contribute to China’s cultural wealth. “These cities also play the role of a bridge between China and the Turkish world and between China and the Islamic world. They are symbols of our historic friendship and neighborliness. The unity of societies and peoples is the greatest wealth of strong states,” he said, among other things.

The Turkish minister stressed that the world must get used to a new civilized competition, noting: “The fact that the markets established by the dominant powers in the last century are changing hands again, under fairer and more competitive market conditions, is a result that must to be accepted. There should be no consequences leading to war and other disasters. There is enough prosperity in our world for everyone.”

Regarding developments in the Middle East, Haqqan Fidan once again advocated the two-state solution, stressing that China’s sensitivity to this issue is extremely satisfactory, and said he appreciates China’s solidarity with the Palestinians and strong support of the two-state solution.

He also pointed out that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call for a comprehensive and effective international peace conference for a solution to the Palestinian Territories is extremely important.

Referring to the economic cooperation between the two countries, Hakan Fidan said that the volume of bilateral trade will reach 48 billion dollars in 2023 and that China is Turkey’s first trading partner in Asia and the third largest trading partner in the world.

“We have raised the issue of how to make trade sizes more balanced in all our meetings. I made practical proposals, such as the lifting of restrictions on imports of Turkish agricultural products. Tourism is another area in which we want to further develop our cooperation”, said the Turkish Foreign Minister.

Fidan called on Chinese companies to set up research and development centers in Turkey, especially in high-tech products, and said this would make it easier for Chinese companies to access markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa through Turkey.

Finally, he reiterated Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation to Xi to visit Turkey this year.

After the Turkish president’s last official visit to China in 2019, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Turkey in July last year and was received by Erdogan at the presidential palace in Ankara.