Third Joint Turkey China Business Forum Held
Turkey’s Minister of Trade announced at the third joint business forum between Turkey and China that China’s investment volume in Turkey has reached 3.2 billion dollars, and highlighted the significant growth in Turkey’s exports to China. The meeting, held in Istanbul with broad participation from officials and business representatives of both countries, emphasized the need to create balance in trade exchanges and expand cooperation in new areas.
Ömer Bolat, Turkey’s Minister of Trade, stated in his speech at the forum that 1,419 Chinese companies are currently operating in Turkey. He added, “In terms of investment volume, 175 million dollars has been invested from Turkey to China, and a significant investment of 3.2 billion dollars has been made from China to Turkey.”
The Turkish Minister of Trade, noting that the bilateral trade volume between the two countries reached 53 billion dollars last year, mentioned that Turkey has presented its proposals to Chinese partners to reduce the trade deficit. Bolat said, “Our goal is not to limit trade, but to establish the structural foundations for balanced trade based on the win-win principle, thereby increasing Turkey’s share, product diversity, and presence of high value-added goods in the Chinese market.” He cited the 32% growth in Turkey’s exports to China in the first month of this year as a promising sign.
The forum was organized with the participation of DEİK (Foreign Economic Relations Board), TÜSİAD (Turkish Industry and Business Association), and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. On the sidelines of the event, three cooperation agreements were signed between business institutions of the two countries, aiming to facilitate and expand economic cooperation.
The Chinese Ambassador in Ankara, also speaking at the ceremony, emphasized that China is Turkey’s largest trading partner and stated that Chinese companies actively participate in Turkey’s economic and social development. He also underlined the necessity of combating unilateral tendencies in global trade.
Other key topics discussed at the forum included strengthening cooperation in advanced technology, innovation, and the development of transportation corridors between the two countries. Turkish Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat also referred to the visa exemption for Chinese citizens starting from the beginning of 2026, expressing hope that the number of Chinese tourists to Turkey would increase significantly and requesting similar facilities for Turkish businesspeople.
