CHINA / DIPLOMACY
Turkish FM meets with Wang Yi, wishes Beijing 2022 Olympics success as in 2008
Published: Jan 13, 2022 01:25 AM
Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) touches elbows with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on March 25, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi touches elbows with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, Turkey, on March 25, 2021.Photo:Xinhua



 Turkey opposes the politicization of sports and wishes the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games a complete success, visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday in his meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who urged the two sides to strengthen coordination and uphold true multilateralism. 

As 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ties between China and Turkey, the two countries have kept development momentum going, highlighted by joint efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang said. 

He stressed that as strategic partners, China and Turkey should enhance mutual trust and support each other in safeguarding their sovereignty, security and development interests. They should also refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs or participating in activities against each other on international occasions, and should enhance understanding toward each other's history and ethnicity, among other issues.

"Turkey is the first country to sign the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation deal with China, which showed the importance Turkey attaches to practical cooperation between the two countries," Wang said. 

The two sides should make good use of the local currency swap arrangement, push forward nuclear power and other major projects, and expand cooperation in new energy, 5G, cloud computing, and big data. Wang added that China is willing to increase imports of high-quality products from Turkey as well. 

Cavusoglu said the currency swap agreement has come in a timely manner and Turkey will encourage its companies to make full use of such an arrangement. 

Both sides have a desire to get rid of the constraints of the dollar, which will benefit China in the internationalization of the Renminbi, Yin Gang, a researcher at the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics starting in less than a month, the Turkish foreign minister expressed faith in Beijing hosting the Games as successfully as it did the 2008 Olympic Games. He stressed that Turkey agrees that sports should not be politicized, and that Turkish athletes are looking forward to competing in the Games.

Turkey is one of the important participants of the Games, and it did not go with Western countries on this issue, Yin said.

Wang stressed that the two sides will abide by the basic norm governing international relations - non-interference in each other's internal affairs - which is also a reminder to Turkey not to interfere in China's affairs such as issues related to the Xinjiang region, Yin noted.

The two sides also exchanged views on issues of common concern including the situation in Kazakhstan. Wang noted that China values the unique role of the Turkish side in regional affairs, and is ready to strengthen multilateral coordination, jointly safeguard true multilateralism, promote the process of democratization of international relations, and safeguard the common interests of emerging market economies, including China and Turkey.

Wang also put forward China's stance on the US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine deal in response to a query from the Turkish side. He stressed that the move by the three countries set a bad precedent and is bound to create nuclear proliferation risks and provoke a regional arms race.

The move has triggered strong dissatisfaction from surrounding countries, and China is willing to work with other countries to maintain the international nuclear non-proliferation system.

Turkey is a country with an independent diplomatic policy and a key influence in the region that links Asia and Europe. So it's important for China to exchange views with it on issues of global significance, and it's also a key partner that can offer support to China in the international arena when China needs to handle the pressures and provocations from the US and some Western countries, experts said.