BY MARUF BUZCUGIL
Q&A with Liu Shaobin, Chinese Ambassador to Turkiye
“The issue of trade imbalance between the two countries is mainly due to structural reasons. Both sides are working together to balance and improve the trade structure. China has never sought to deliberately pursue a trade surplus and is committed to promoting the balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade. We are working with Turkiye to expand cooperation in areas such as investment, tourism, and energy and are ready to take comprehensive measures to facilitate this process.”
CHINA ATTRACTS GLOBAL ATTENTION AS THE WORLD’S SECOND -LARGEST ECONOMY. COULD YOU BRIEFLY PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE CURRENT STATE OF CHINA’S ECONOMY?
Despite the challenges posed by a complex domestic and international environment, China’s economy has demonstrated remarkable stability and steady progress since the beginning of this year, providing a reassuring outlook for the future.
According to the recent thirdquarter economic data, China’s economic operation remains stable. In the first three quarters of the year, China’s GDP grew by 4.8% year-onyear, the urban unemployment rate and prices have remained relatively stable, and foreign exchange reserves have once again reached USD 3.3tr. The four key macroeconomic indicators—economic growth, employment, prices, and the balance of payments—have maintained stability. High-quality development continues to progress with steady steps. As the effects of policies begin to show, favorable conditions for stabilizing and recovering the economy are increasing, and confidence in achieving the annual economic growth target of around 5% is growing.
In the first three quarters, the added value of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries exceeding the set target grew by 7.5% and 9.1% year-on-year, respectively. Green industries such as electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaics have continued to maintain double-digit high growth rates. The downturn in the economy has ended, and there are signs of recovery. After four months of decline, the industry ’s growth rate rose for the first time in September. From January to September, the growth rate of fixed asset investment, which had fallen for several consecutive months, stabilized for the first time. These seemingly ordinary improvements are actually hard-earned and should not be underestimated for their significance.
China’s stable economic progress has not only benefited its own economy but also significantly contributed to the global economy. With its high-level openness and high-quality ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, China is actively creating international cooperation platforms, such as the China International Import Expo (CIIE) and the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). These efforts have led to a record-breaking total goods trade volume in the first three quarters, exceeding CNY 32tr and continuing to drive global trade growth.
RECENTLY, THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTING A SERIES OF COMPREHENSIVE STIMULUS MEASURES. HOW WILL THIS AFFECT CHINA’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?
The latest comprehensive stimulus package implemented by the Chinese government is expected to have a positive impact on Turkiye-China relations. The package covers five areas: strengthening the implementation of macro policies, further expanding domestic demand, increasing support for businesses, stabilizing and revitalizing the real estate market, and stimulating the capital market. These measures, which are beginning to yield results, have led to rapid rebounds in the sales of products such as automobiles, home appliances, office supplies, and furniture, effectively unleashing the potential of domestic demand. Key indicators such as industry, services, investment, and retail sales have observed positive changes. In September, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing increased by 0.7 points compared to the previous month. Both traditional and emerging industries have been significantly revitalized. The stock market has visibly recovered, housing sales have become more active, market confidence has increased, and the economy has begun to stabilize and recover. This economic stability and growth, fueled by the stimulus package, will likely lead to increased opportunities for bilateral cooperation between China and Turkiye.
The comprehensive stimulus package not only focuses on the present but also aims to address major problems limiting the economy ’s medium- and long-term development and to strengthen its foundation for long-term, sustainable, stable, and high-quality growth. The package will also benefit the global economy. We will make
more efforts to attract and protect investment, improve and expand the catalog of sectors that encourage foreign investment, implement new sizeable foreign investment projects, and clarify the visa-free transit policy for third countries through China. China’s door to the outside world will open even wider.
TURKIYE AND CHINA ARE CLOSELY ENGAGED AT ALL LEVELS, AND BILATERAL COOPERATION IS DEEPENING. HOW DO YOU ASSESS THE FUTURE OF BILATERAL RELATIONS AND CONCRETE COOPERATION?
With the joint attention and strategic leadership of the two countries’ leaders in recent years, China-Turkiye relations have developed steadily, with intense contacts at all levels and positive progress in concrete cooperation across various sectors. Recently, the successful meeting between President Xi Jinping of China and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkiye during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit has shaped the future of bilateral relations. Similarly, positive and important outcomes were achieved during the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to China. Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek is visiting China to hold the second meeting of the China-Turkiye Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee, the highestlevel cooperation mechanism between the two countries. Holding this meeting is an important step in fulfilling the consensus of the two leaders and will play a significant role in coordinating concrete cooperation in all areas.
We are confident that bilateral relations will continue to develop and concrete cooperation will deepen without interruption. We hope both sides will make joint efforts and move in the same direction in the following areas.
COULD TURKIYE’S GEOGRAPHICAL PROXIMITY TO EUROPE AND ITS CUSTOMS UNION WITH THE EU HAVE AN IMPACT ON INVESTMENTS? WHAT IS CHINA’S VIEW ON DIRECT INVESTMENT BY CHINESE COMPANIES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IN TURKIYE?
With its unique and advantageous geographical position, Turkiye is an important logistics hub. It has easy access to a large market and a solid industrial foundation. In recent years, we have seen that Turkiye’s economy has maintained a growth trend, economic stability has increased, and economic policies have become more predictable. Turkiye has also experienced aboveaverage economic growth globally. The widely-discussed inflation issue has also eased to some extent. International credit rating agencies like Fitch, S&P, and Moody’s have upgraded Turkiye’s credit rating, and they have a positive outlook on Turkiye’s economic future.
In recent years, concrete cooperation between China and Turkiye has continued to develop steadily and healthily. Bilateral trade has rapidly grown, and China has become Turkiye’s largest trading partner in Asia and its third-largest in the world. According to Chinese statistics, trade between China and Turkiye increased by 13.5% year-on-year in 2023, reaching USD 43.4bn. The issue of trade imbalance between the two countries is mainly due to structural reasons. Both sides are working together to balance and improve the trade structure. China has never sought to deliberately pursue a trade surplus and is committed to promoting the balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade.
We are working with Turkiye to expand cooperation in areas such as investment, tourism, and energy and are ready to take comprehensive measures to facilitate this process.
CAN YOU PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIRECT INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT FOR CHINA IN TURKIYE?
There are over 1,000 Chinese businesses in Turkiye, and China’s direct investment in Turkiye has exceeded USD 3.1bn.
The Chinese side supports Chinese companies investing more in Turkiye and is happy to see Turkish companies engage in business and investment in China. At the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), systematic arrangements were made to further deepen reforms and develop Chinese-style modernization. This meeting emphasized that opening up is a significant feature of Chinese-style modernization, and China will adhere to its fundamental state policy of opening up, continuously develop high-level open systems and mechanisms, and promote international cooperation in industrial and supply chains. All of these efforts will create more opportunities for expanding practical cooperation between the two countries.
