An Analysis Of Turkey’s Relations With China During The Justice And Development Party’s Ruling Period

The Turkish nation and the Chinese nation are two ancient nations,which are located at the two extremes of Eurasia.The two countries have had frequent exchanges in history,especially in the 21 st century.This article mainly analyzes the development and evolution of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party(AKP)’s China policy during its ruling period.From 2002 to 2006,under the strategic guidance of becoming a full member of the European Union,the AKP government gave priority to the development of political,economic and military relations between the EU and Turkey.As a result,Turkey’s view of the "China threat" was formed as a result of the main factors that caused Turkey’s trade deficit with China to increase.The AKP government cannot achieve its goal of joining the EU.Since 2006,it has been hoping to develop Turkey-China relations,especially to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries.Since then,due to the increased exchange of high-level visits between the two sides,bilateral relations have begun to develop in various fields.After former Turkish President Gul visited China in 2009,bilateral relations are expected to develop further.During this period,high-level military talks between the two sides and the exchange of visits between the ministers of the two countries had a positive impact.The relationship between the two countries developed into a strategic partnership when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Turkey on October 7,2010.Thus,the strategic cooperation between the two countries has entered a new era.Turkey conducted military exercises with China in 2010 and received a strong response from NATO.The strategic cooperation between Turkey and China,which began in 2010,provides opportunities for further development within the framework of the win-win policy for the "the belt and road initiative" project announced in 2013.This project not only advances the economic relations between the two countries,thus promoting the cultural and historical ties between the two peoples,but also enhances the mutual understanding between them.Turkey decided to buy a US$ 3.4 billion missile defense system from China in 2013 but canceled the tender in 2015 after NATO responded strongly.In 2002,the total trade between the two countries was 1.6 billion US dollars,in 2018,the total amount was 23.6 billion US dollars.However,there is a serious trade deficit between the two countries.To defeat this problem,Turkey needs to produce a long-term strategic plan.Although relations between Turkey and China have developed in recent years,there are still some problems to be solved between the two countries.The two countries have different strategies in the Middle East and Central Asia.A consultation and dialogue mechanism should be established for the two countries to strengthen cooperation in third countries.