Beijing’s treatment of the Uygur minority in Xinjiang is expected to remain a challenge for ties, observers say.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to continue a balancing act between China and the West in his third five-year term, but observers say Beijing’s treatment of the Uygur minority in Xinjiang will remain a challenge for ties. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Erdogan after he beat opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu – who had promised a West-leaning foreign policy – in a run-off election on Sunday. Xi said China and Turkey had “broad common interests” in his message to Erdogan on Monday. “In recent years, the development of the China-Turkey strategic cooperative relationship has maintained momentum, and practical cooperation in various fields has made positive headway,” Xi said in the message, according to state news agency Xinhua. “I prize the development of China-Turkey relations and stand ready to work with Erdogan to promote mutual understanding and mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns so as to boost the sustained, sound and stable development of the two countries’ strategic cooperative relationship,” he said. Nilgün Yildirim, an associate professor with Atilim University in Ankara, said the election result could bring some relief to policymakers in Beijing.
