Turkish finance minister to visit China for high-level meetings on trade, investment, cooperation

By Deniz Cicek Palabiyik

Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek will pay a visit to China to attend several high-level meetings this week.

As part of his official visit to the capital Beijing, Simsek will first attend the joint working group meeting on Nov. 6 to discuss the harmonization of the Middle Corridor Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative, according to information obtained by Anadolu.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Harmonization of the Silk Road Economic Belt, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and the Middle Corridor Initiative was signed in the Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya in 2015.

The meeting will also discuss air and road connectivity, green transformation, energy cooperation, industry, and investments, as well as trade and economic issues.

- Türkiye-China Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee

Simsek will attend the second meeting of the Türkiye-China Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee (ICC), the highest-level consultation mechanism between the two countries, on Nov. 7.

Simsek and Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Guoqing will co-chair the committee, which was established with an MoU signed in Beijing in 2015.

The committee fulfills tasks such as determining the priority areas of cooperation, comprehensively evaluating the cooperation in politics, economy, trade, energy, transportation, security, culture, tourism, and other fields, and improving communication.

The first meeting of the committee was held in the Turkish capital Ankara on Nov. 4, 2016.

The timing of the meeting is important as it will be held after the BRICS Summit and before the G20 Summit.

The committee meeting is expected to include consultations on bilateral ties between Ankara and Beijing and an exchange of views on regional and international issues.

- Gathering with Chinese finance, investment firms

Separately, Simsek will also hold bilateral meetings during his visit to Beijing.

He will meet with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's President Jin Liqun, as well as senior executives of Chinese financial and investment companies, including ICBC and the Bank of China.

Economic and trade relations will also play a major role in the meetings.

While bilateral trade volume exceeded $48 billion in 2023, China is Türkiye's first largest trading partner in Asia and third in the world.

The discussions will also focus on a more balanced and sustainable structure of bilateral trade and cooperation opportunities on investments from China to Türkiye.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul