Turkey aims to surpass $20B trade volume with China

By Handan Gunes and Yunus Turk

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey is working intensively to surpass its current trade volume with China -- $20 billion -- focusing on high value-added projects within a win-win framework, the head of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) said on Friday.

The Belt and Road Initiative was launched by China as is a project critical both in terms of the future of global trade and the region, said Ismail Gulle during a program on Turkey - China multidimensional relations.

He said all countries from Eurasia support China's project, so does Turkey.

"We have to ensure that Turkey's gastronomic skills, agricultural and food products as well as tourism are well known by our Chinese friends," he said.

Pointing to China's $2.1 trillion total imports and the scope of China's investments under the Belt and Road Initiative, Gulle underlined the project's potential not only for Turkey, but for the entire region.

For his part, Cui Wei, the Chinese Consul General in Istanbul, said despite the thousands of kilometers between the two countries, the cultural exchange has never been interrupted.

"In ancient times, the Silk Road has been the bridge of friendship between the two sides," he said, with Porcelain and silk, for instance, being traded from China to Turkey.

He added that Turkey, which is at the intersection point of Europe and Asia, combined advantageous aspects of eastern and western cultures and created a unique cultural environment.

*Writing by Aysu Bicer