Wires carrying comments from China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, following meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
- According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, Wang said: "China is ready to enhance mutual strategic trust, deepen cooperation with Türkiye... China supports Türkiye in playing role in regional, international arena, & opposes any interference in Türkiye's internal affairs."
- Wang: "China is willing to import more quality Turkish products, support companies of two countries to settle trade in local currencies.... China is willing to encourage more Chinese companies to invest and do business in Türkiye."
- Fidan: "Türkiye believes that global initiatives, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, are of strategic significance."
- The comments cap a productive week from Erdogan which has seen Ankara sign a USD$1 billion defence contact with Saudi Arabia, strike a deal with the UAE worth around USD$50 billion, and negotiate the lifting of a Dutch arms embargo.
- Erdogan has also sought to reassert his role as a regional diplomatic broker by meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today and he will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a state visit in the coming days.
