50th Anniversary of Turkey-China Diplomatic Ties: Expectations and Feasibility

Source:Academia Date:20Dec2023

This article focuses on contemporary Turkey-China Relations. 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the first diplomatic relations between Turkey and China. The article examines the topic from a diplomatic perspective, with a deep analysis of important events in the last five decades. It employs a realist approach to examine the past 50 years of relations. From the first year to now, relations have been getting closer, and Turkey is receiving significant amounts of Chinese Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), especially after the declaration of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Turkey’s strong support for it. Turkey combines its ‘Middle Corridor’ and ‘Asia Anew’ initiative with the BRI. Lastly, this article focuses on the expectation and feasibility of bilateral ties. This article shows that the 50 years of history tell us that the next 50 years framework will develop into a larger structure. It also points out that Turkey-China relations will extend while facing internal and external challenges.