Turkish-Chinese Relations in the Crucible of Modern Uyghur Nationalism
Tugrul Keskin
Conference Presentation:
Turkey
was formed out of the ashes of Ottoman Empire, as a nation whose foundations are built on secularist and
modernist tendencies, as was the common trend in the Middle East in the early
1920s. By comparison, China was established with a hybrid of socialism and
nationalism; a combination which served as a reaction to and against British
and American imperialism. In addition,
the roots of the unification of China arose from in the Maoist revolution in
1949. Both countries tried to modernize their societies by using
state-centered economic systems. However, this changed in the late 1970s, and
China and Turkey have since then both moved towards more neoliberal economic
development policies and practices in order to manage within the globalized
era. Turkey did not recognize the PRC until 1971 and there were limited
relations between two countries. Then from 1971 to 1982, as a result of the
Cold War, Turkey did not have an official policy toward China; however, in1982,
former military dictator Kenan Evren visited China and met with Chinese
officials and the military establishment. After Evren’s visit, and helped by
Chinese move towards neoliberalism era in the global arena, relations between
two countries transformed, driven by ordinary business and economic
cooperation. Relations between the
two countries seem to be based on two important dimensions; trade, primarily in
the manufacturing sector and Turkey’s NATO membership. However, many
scholars forget to emphasize another important – perhaps the most important -
aspect in this complicated and multidimensional relationship; Uyghur
Nationalism. Neither China nor Turkey can avoid this issue in dealing with each
other. Trade relations, foreign affairs, cultural exchange and all of the
aspects of the relationship between China and Turkey are impacted by Uyghur
Nationalism and the related dynamics of Pan-Turkism. In this
presentation/article, I argue that Uyghur Nationalism is in fact the most
important factor in the political, cultural and economic relationship between
the two nations.
