By Giorgio Cafiero and Bertrand Viala
MEI | Mar 15, 2017
Since the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, Turkey has been
looking east for new partners to decrease Ankara’s dependence on
traditional Western allies. The election of Donald Trump has contributed
to the further estrangement of Turkey’s relationship with its
traditional NATO allies, leaving Ankara less comfortable remaining so
reliant on Washington for regional security matters. Unquestionably,
Russia has played the most influential role in Turkey’s strategic pivot
of the past eight months. However, China also factors into Turkey’s eastward shift.
Despite China not being one of Turkey’s major trading partners in the 20th
century, Sino-Turkish relations have grown significantly since Turkey’s
Justice and Development Party (A.K.P.) came to power in 2002. At that
time, bilateral trade was roughly $1 billion; last year that figure
reached $27 billion. As
the A.K.P. has sought to continue strengthening Turkey’s relationship
with China, the party’s ideology and domestic political agendas have at
times constrained the potential for Ankara and Beijing to deepen their
links. Specifically, tensions between the Chinese government and the
country’s Muslim-practicing Uighur minority in Xinjiang have fueled
problems in Sino-Turkish relations. Yet at this point, given Ankara’s
interest in diversifying its web of partners on the international stage,
it appears that the A.K.P. leadership has taken stock of China’s value
to Turkey and has decided to tone down its public displays of solidarity
with the Uighurs.
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