By Fuat Kabakci
BEIJING (AA) – Turkish ambassador in Beijing hailed the improving relations with China, saying 2018 has been a “year of records” in terms of numbers of official visits and Chinese tourists visiting Turkey.
Reviewing the bilateral ties in diplomacy, tourism and culture fields for Anadolu Agency, Abdulkadir Emin Onen said the ties have gained momentum in 2018 and over 1,000 bilateral talks between Turkish and Chinese officials were held in the past year.
“2018 has been a year of records in China-Turkey relations … in terms of both high-level visits and number of activities in total. It has also been a year of records in terms of the number of tourists,” he said.
Onen voiced his hope that 2019 will be “a year that we will break these records, see more Chinese [tourists] in Turkey and sign more bilateral agreements.”
“One of our most important targets is for China to pay a state visit to Turkey,” he added.
- Promoting Turkey in China
The Turkish envoy hailed efforts made for Turkey’s promotion in China through the media and social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo.
“When we look at the platforms we used over the past year, we see that we’ve reached around 3-3,5 million people. In this way, we think we’ve contributed to the promotion of Turkey substantially.
Well-known social media influencers, senior journalists and individuals in China were sent to Turkey as part of the efforts to promote the country, he added.
“It is expected that numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Turkey will reach 400,000 [in 2019], but our target is 1 million.”
Onen underscored the importance of increasing the numbers of airlines flying to Turkey, adding, “China Southern Airlines has started conducting flights to Turkey last December and Sichuan Airlines will start flying to Turkey this year. Onur Air will also have flights to Chengdu from Istanbul.”
In regards to commercial ties, he said that the trade volume between the two countries are now at around 30 billion but should have been at least 50 billion.
Oner called on Turkish businessmen to do business in China “and hold meetings focusing on increasing Turkey’s export. “
The ambassador stated that the interest in Turkey and Turkish language has increased at universities in China, while new Turkish departments and research centers were also established.
“Our biggest desire in 2019 is to make the two nations get closer and to increase interactive meetings,” he added.
