As one of the first and largest direct investors, China's interest in Turkey is increasing while the potential for cooperation grows. A delegation of Turkish business people led by the International Cooperation Platform (UİP) held meetings in Shanghai. The organization recently established an office in Shanghai and solidified the investment bridge between Turkey and China.
Daily Sabah reports in its article Chinese investment potential continues to grow in Turkey that Turkish and Chinese investors who plan to carry out investments in Turkey and China came together at a meeting in Istanbul organized by the UİP. Executives from SHMY HealthDigit and Shanghai Le Wei Info-Tech and China's Agricultural Education Development Center Director Zhimin Yan participated in the meeting. The organizations reportedly expressed the will to evaluate investment opportunities in mining, agriculture, health and fishing sectors. The executives of SHMY HealthDigit and Shanghai Le Wei Info-Tech told Turkish daily Dünya that they are interested in cooperating with Turkish investors in the electric bus, health, greenhouse cultivation and solar power areas and they are keen to import fruits and vegetables from Turkey. They said that cherry imports from Turkey and the Shanghai Food port can be entry points for Turkish cherries to the Chinese market. "We want to position Turkey as a hub and sell Chinese products to European, Near Eastern and Middle Eastern markets.
The Belt and Road project that was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 has enabled access to reach Chinese investors and gave a boost to Chinese investments in Turkey.
UİP Chairman Cengiz Özgencil emphasized that Turkey is an attractive country for foreign investors and noted that UİP works to bring together Turkish and Chinese investors and expand their ties.
The bilateral trade between Turkey and China was recorded at $28 billion in 2017 and Turkey's imports from the country totaled to nearly $26 billion. Chinese firms that have been operating in Turkey's logistics, electronics, energy, tourism, finance and real estate sectors are expanding their businesses in the country. With the entry of Bank of China and Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the flow of Chinese companies into Turkey has accelerated and also expanded into the e-commerce sector in the recent period. The number of Chinese firms operating in Turkey had neared 1,000 by April, according to data from the Economy Ministry.
