China–Turkey relations

Historically, Chinese relations with Turkic nomadic tribes encompassed many different facets that affected their relations, although the relationship by far was mostly described in a negative light.[8] This was stemmed by historical wars between various Chinese dynasties against various Turkic entities by that time, began from the Han–Xiongnu War when the Xiongnu, the ancestors of modern Turkic and Mongolian nomadic tribes, conflicted with Han dynasty.[9]

The conflict between nomadic people, which the Turks were part of, and the Chinese, intensified under the Tang dynasty, when the Tang dynasty launched two punitive expeditions against Turkic people (Tang campaign against the Eastern Turks and Tang campaigns against the Western Turks), as well as the Turks allied with Korean Goguryeo against China.[10][11] The Tang won both campaigns but failed to eliminate Turkic resistance, and this was detrimental of paving the way to the fall of the dynasty and Chinese power. During the Battle of Talas, the Turks betrayed the Chinese Empire and joined the Arabs, ultimately expelled the Chinese out of Central Asia.[12] This was proceeded with the devastating An Lushan Rebellion when Turkic-born An Lushan revolted against the Tang dynasty, which led to the eventual collapse of Chinese power and slowly, the fall of the Tang dynasty.[13]

In the 16th century, there emerged travelogues of both Ottoman travelers to China and Chinese travelers to the Ottoman world.[14]

According to the official history of the Ming dynasty, some self-proclaimed Ottoman envoys visited Beijing to pay tribute to the Ming emperor in 1524.[15]

Kaiser Wilhelm II was so alarmed by the Chinese Muslim troops in the Boxer Rebellion that he requested the Caliph Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire to find a way to stop the Muslim troops from fighting. The Caliph agreed to the Kaiser's request and sent Enver Pasha (not the future Young Turk leader) to China in 1901, but the rebellion had ended by that time.[16][17][18]

Turkish government officials received a Chinese Muslim delegation under Wang Zengshan who denounced the Japanese invasion of China.[19]

in 1950, United Nations Resolution 83 requested military aid for South Korea following its invasion by North Korean forces, which were assisted by China and the Soviet Union. The 5,000-strong Turkish Brigade was attached to the U.S. 25th Infantry Division, served within United Nations Command. The Turkish Brigade fought in several major actions, including the Battle of Wawon (27–29 November 1950), against elements of the 38th Group Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and Battle of Kumyangjang-Ni (25–26 January 1951), against elements of the Chinese 50th Army. The brigade was awarded Unit Citations by both South Korea and the United States.

In 1971, Turkey was one of 76 nations voting in favor of restoring UN membership to the Chinese government.[20]

On 28 November 2008, Jia Qinglin, China's top political advisor and the chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference, gave an official goodwill visit to Turkey as guest of Turkish Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan. In Ankara, Jia met Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After visiting Ankara, Jia attended a business forum entitled "Turkish-Chinese Economic and Commercial Opportunities Forum" in İstanbul.[21]

Turkish President Abdullah Gül has become the first Turkish president to visit China in 14 years with his official visit between on 24–29 June 2009.[22][23] Gül said one of the major goals of his visit was to boost economic relations.[24] In Beijing, Gül hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and attended a Turkey-China business forum.[25] Following the meetings, seven cooperation agreements were signed between the two countries in the fields of energy, banking, finance and culture.[26] After Beijing, Gül visited Xi'an and he was awarded with an honorary doctorate by the Xian Northwest University.[27] In the third leg of his China trip, Gül visited Shenzhen.[28] Upon an invitation of the Beijing administration, Gül also visited Ürümqi and has become the first Turkish president visiting Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.[29]

On 7 October 2010, China and Turkey signed eight cooperation agreements relating to trade, cultural and technical exchange, marine cooperation, and other things. At the signing ceremony attended by both of the countries' prime ministers, both pledged to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2015, and to cooperate in building high-speed rail to link Ankara to Istanbul.[30] Later in November, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu toured China for six days and met with his counterpart Yang Jiechi, after Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited Turkey and upgraded the China–Turkey relationship to a "strategic partnership". Among the joint pledges the foreign ministers made in China were to start a Turkish industrial zone in Xinjiang[31] and to jointly crack down on separatism and terrorism, including on anti-China separatist activities in Turkey.[32] Commentators have cited these stronger ties as further proof of a realignment of Turkish foreign policy to the "East".[31]

In 2017, the Chinese ambassador to Turkey Yu Hongyang said that China is ready to discuss Turkey's membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.[6][33]

According to a November 2018 INR poll, 46% of Turks view China favourably, up from 30% in June 2018. The poll also found that 62% of Turks think it important for Turkey to maintain a strong trade relationship with China.[34]

In April 2019, China was the first country to congratulate Ekrem İmamoğlu after he became the mayor of Istanbul.[35] Ekrem İmamoğlu told the Chinese Consul General in Istanbul Cui Wei that the political, economic, trade and cultural relations between China and Turkey are very good and important.[36]

In July 2019, when Turkish President Erdogan visited China, he said "It is a fact that the people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang are leading a happy life amid China's development and prosperity".[37] Erdogan also said that some people were seeking to "abuse" the Xinjiang crisis to jeopardize "Turkish-Chinese relationship".[38][39][40] Beijing also invited Turkish reporters to tour the Xinjiang re-education camps. The state-run tabloid Global Times described the camps as a model for counter-terrorism and a "paradise" for the Uyghurs.[41] A delegation from the Turkish Foreign Ministry was also expected to visit the camps.

China criticized the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that China held "Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity must be respected and upheld", noted that several sides had "expressed concerns" over Turkey's military operation and urged Turkey to "exercise restraint".[42]

Rebiya Kadeer claimed that Turkey is hampered from offering support to the Uyghurs because of its own Kurdish conflict, which China may interfere with in retaliation.[59] Turkey has officially designated the East Turkistan Islamic Movement as a terrorist organization.[60] In recent years, China and Turkey have increased cooperation against separatist movements in Xinjiang.[61] Turkey has also increased deportations of Uyghurs to China.[62][63][64] In February 2019, the Spokesperson of the Turkish Foreign Ministry denounced China for "violating the fundamental human rights of Uyghur Turks and other Muslim communities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."[65][66] In May 2020, an extradition treaty between Turkey and China was not certain to pass in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.[67] In July 2020, The Daily Telegraph reported that Turkey was sending Uyghur human activists to third countries where they could then be extradited to China.[68]

The ruling AKP in Turkey has different factions; some of which are nationalists who want to confront China over its treatment of Uyghurs, and other members who want to prioritize good relations with China and believe that the Uyghur issue is being abused to spoil relations between China and Turkey by the United States.[3] Some Islamist AKP members have accused Rebiya Kadeer of being an "American agent" and "infidel".[69] Turkey has had to follow its own country's interests first with a pragmatic approach to the situation of Turkic peoples in other countries like Uyghurs, Gagauz, and Crimean Tatars.[70] In recent years, those who want to maintain relations with China have gained the upper hand.[71][3]