SINAN TAVSAN, Nikkei Staff Writer
NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW -August 3, 2015
ISTANBUL -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday
completed a three-day state visit to China. For Erdogan, the trip was a
high-wire act. Part of his mission was to convince Chinese companies
that they should get involved in ambitious transportation, energy and
other large-scale infrastructure projects in Turkey. But he was also
there to ask that China respect the human rights of the country's ethnic
Turkic population. These ethnic Turkics, or Uighurs, reside
in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, in western China, where
discontent with Beijing has often bubbled to the surface. Turkey is in a bit of a tight spot. In terms of gross domestic product,
its economy averaged 3.4% growth from 2007 to 2014. That is a big drop
from the 7.2% average growth it experienced from 2002 to 2006. It also
mirrors the European Union's slow economy over a similar time span. Turkey, the crossroads between Asia and Europe, now wants to enhance
its relations with the nations to its east. And, as it happens, China
would like to engineer what it calls a new Silk Road Economic Belt so
that its exports can more easily make their way to Europe. While in China, Erdogan hailed China's plan and made sure to point out that Turkey would be a willing participant.
But he also had to address the Uighur situation. "It seems they have found a middle way for now regarding the
Uighurs" said Selcuk Colakoglu, head of the Asia-Pacific Research
Center, a think tank based in Ankara, an academic unit of Ankara based
think tank USAK. "The visit was instrumental for rebuilding trust
between parties and repairing damaged ties." Of course, Colakoglu continued, "the Uighur problem is the soft underbelly of Turkey-China relations." Turkey and China have been in a diplomatic tiff over the Uighur
situation since the end of June. The Turkish foreign ministry at the
time summoned Chinese ambassador Yu Hongyang to convey "deep concern"
regarding media reports that China had banned Uighurs from fasting and
observing other religious rites during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Then last month, Thailand sent a number of Uighur refugees trying to
make their way to Turkey back to China against their will.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it "deplores
the act of the government of Thailand." But the situation only
escalated. More than 200 people, mostly belonging to an Uighur-related
association in Turkey, stormed the Thai consulate in Istanbul and
vandalized the building. Since then, East Asian tourists and
residents in Turkey have come under increasing amounts of harassment by
Turkish people who assume their targets are Chinese. The usually
outspoken Erdogan had to tip-toe around the issue to strike the
appropriate tone and not draw the ire of China ahead of his key visit. "Allegations that our brothers living in the Xinjiang Uighur
Autonomous Region of the PRC are under pressure has caused sensitivity
in our public opinion," Erdogan said during a fast-breaking dinner
reception for foreign ambassadors in Turkey, in July. "Especially, as a
considerable number of the images and reports circulating in the media
have either been [fabrications] or wrong, opening the door to
exploitation." Erdogan was more diplomatic than he had been
in 2009, when violent clashes between Han Chinese and Uighurs led to
scores of deaths. Erdogan labeled the killings a "genocide," drawing
harsh criticism from China. In April 2012, following then
Vice President Xi Jinping's high-profile visit to Turkey, Erdogan became
Turkey's first prime minister to visit Xinjiang. He took a stroll
through the city center and chatted with Uighurs in Turkish before
visiting Beijing, where he struck a conciliatory tone on the issue. During last week's visit, Erdogan received China Islam Society
members, including Uighur and Hui Muslims, in Beijing. Turkish
presidential sources told the official Anatolia News Agency that China
welcomed the meeting. Chinese officials even expressed their content
with the comments Erdogan had made on the Uighur situation before his
visit. "China allowing such a meeting shows there is a mutual
understanding between the countries," said Dr. Altay Atli of the
Bogazici University Asian Studies Center. "They want to solve their
Uighur problem. After the tensions the two countries have experienced in
the last months, now mutual trust has been restored, for the time
being." Sino-Turkish relations have significantly advanced
during the past couple of years. Chinese companies are now eager to play
a larger role in Turkey's massive infrastructure and defense projects,
including high speed trains, nuclear plants and missile defense systems. After wrapping up talks with Erdogan on July 28, Xi attended a
Turkey-China business forum the next day. The conference drew close to
300 businessmen from both countries. Erdogan was also on hand. Pundits
are suggesting that Xi showing up at the symposium shows that China
attaches importance to its relations with Turkey. At the
forum, Xi said China wants to cooperate in future high-speed rail
projects in Turkey and "play an active role" in the country's planned
third nuclear power plant. China was in the running to develop Turkey's
second nuclear power plant, but a Japanese-French consortium ended up
winning the contract. During his speech, Erdogan also welcomed Chinese
involvement in developing his country's next nuclear power plant. Turkish officials have told the Nikkei Asian Review that
Westinghouse of the U.S. and China's State Nuclear Power Technology
Corporation in June presented a joint pre-feasibility report to Turkey's
energy ministry. In the report, they proposed building four reactors
that could be either Westinghouse's pressurized water reactor AP 1000
model or China's CAP 1400 model, which is based on the AP 1000. Turkey
is currently evaluating the report. On the defense front, the
two leaders agreed to continue negotiating a deal in which Turkey would
buy a multibillion-dollar long-range air and missile defense system
from China, Turkish sources said. Negotiations will also continue on
joint production and technology transfers, according to the sources. The China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corporation in 2013 had
been announced as having won the contract for the defense system with a
bid of $3.4 billion. But the result drew a negative reaction from
Turkey's NATO allies. Negotiations have been continuing since then, with
European and U.S. companies now also in the running. Erdogan
noted that Turkey is running a trade deficit of around $22 billion with
China. He made the remark during the business forum and urged China to
"close this gap with Chinese investments." During their talks, Erdogan
and Xi set a long-term target for trade between the two countries to
reach an annual $100 billion. Erdogan also proposed that the two countries use their own currencies when trading between each other. The nations have other economic links. Turkey became a founding
member of the China-kick-started Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
While in Beijing, Erdogan said Turkey provided $2.6 billion of the
bank's initial capital, for which it received voting rights of 2.48
percent. That makes Turkey the bank's 11th largest shareholder. On another front, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in April
completed regulatory approval for acquiring 75% percent of Turkey's
small-cap Tekstilbank. Tekstilbank in May issued a statement
saying, "Reviving the silk road and Turkey becoming a founding member of
AIIB have laid a foundation of future infrastructure agreements between
China and Turkey." In Turkish politics, the Justice and
Development Party, known as the AKP, of which Erdogan is among the
leading founders, in June lost its majority for the first time in nearly
13 years. Should coalition talks fail, Turkey faces an early election,
possibly at the end of November. The AKP is currently playing
the nationalism card as it tries to regain its single party majority.
But if the Uighur situation flares up again, the AKP and Erdogan might
be put in a squeeze. Making public statements in favor of the Uighurs
would certainly play well at home but would also anger China. Bogazici University's Atli admitted that such a scenario could play out
"in theory, but it would be highly unlikely so soon after such a
high-profile visit." While in China, Erdogan and Xi
signed several agreements, among them a memorandum of understanding
on establishing a cooperation committee at the deputy prime ministerial
level. They also signed a pact calling for the two countries to mutually
encourage and protect investments between them.
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