Turkey, China eye more trade in "strategic partnership

Reuters ^ | Oct 8th 2010 | Selcuk Golokuk and Tulay Karadeniz

[Cardhu]

Turkey and China aim to treble bilateral trade to $50 billion a year by 2015 and to $100 billion by 2020 under a new "strategic partnership", the prime ministers of the two countries said on Friday.

Their joint news conference came after Beijing slammed as "an obscenity" the Nobel Committee's awarding of its peace prize to jailed Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao made no mention of the prize and took no questions.

Members of the G20 group of rich and developing countries, Turkey and China have two of the fastest growing economies in the world and are looking to boost their global influence.

"We have decided bilaterally to establish a strategic partnership in our relations," Wen told the news conference with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan said the two sides had agreed to use the lira and the yuan, rather than dollars, in bilateral trade and singled out nuclear energy cooperation as a promising driver of trade.

The two leaders signed eight deals in areas including trade, infrastructure, energy and railway networks that would help connect Istanbul to Beijing through a "modern silk road".

Turkey's ties with China have been complicated at times because of Beijing's tough approach to unrest in Xinjiang, home to China's Muslim Turkic minority of Uighurs.

IRAN FACTOR

Both Ankara and Beijing have increased commercial ties with Iran, signing deals on oil and gas fields to the frustration of Western powers, who suspect Iran of a secret nuclear weapons programme, an allegation that Iran denies.

[Cardhu]

* Two countries want to treble trade by 2015

* Lira and yuan to be used in bilateral trade, not dollars

* China "appreciates" Turkey's efforts over Iran