Xi Jinping and Erdogan discuss connecting the Belt and Road Initiative and the Middle Corridor

In Tianjin, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is visiting China as one of the leaders of the organization's partner countries, to attend the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

Xi Jinping stated in the meeting that China and Turkey are both emerging countries and important members of the global south, and both have a spirit of independence and autonomy. China-Turkey relations are at a high level of development and align with the fundamental interests of the two countries as well as the common interests of the global south.

He added: The two countries should understand the trend of the times, namely peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, and help each other on the path to achieving national prosperity, elevate the China-Turkey strategic partnership to a higher level, and work together to build a more just and reasonable global governance system.

The Chinese President also stated: The two countries should support each other on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns, and strengthen security cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism.

Referring to the Middle Corridor in Turkey and its importance to China, he stressed: The two countries should strengthen the integration of the "Belt and Road" initiative with the "Middle Corridor" plan in Turkey, and advance the development of the Southern Corridor of China-Europe freight trains, and enhance the level of cooperation in traditional areas such as economy and trade, culture and tourism.

In response to Xi Jinping's remarks, Erdogan said: Turkey attaches great importance to the development of relations with China and is willing to strengthen high-level contacts with Beijing, promote high-quality cooperation within the framework of the "Belt and Road", increase the level of trade and investment, and expand cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, new energy, agriculture and food, and health.

The Turkish President, while appreciating the invitation of the Chinese President to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, emphasized that the upcoming summit will be the largest summit of the organization since its establishment and that Turkey is willing to strengthen its cooperation with China within this framework to promote the development and prosperity of the region and the world.