The China-Europe freight train service reaches Istanbul from Chongqing, China, opening the doors to a new era in China-Turkey logistics cooperation. The value of transported goods and the increase in such projects show that the economic relations between both countries are deepening. CGTN Commentator Liu Wenjun points out that while these developments increase the momentum of regional and global trade, the cooperation between China and Turkey will become even stronger in the future.
The China-Europe freight train, departing from the city of Chongqing in southwestern China, recently arrived in Istanbul. The expedition passed through China's Korgas Border Gate, as well as foreign countries such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The total value of the goods on the expedition, which covered 10 thousand kilometers and carried mainly machinery equipment, reached 20 million yuan. This symbolized new progress in logistics cooperation between China and Turkey.
Connecting Asia to Europe, Turkey has a special geopolitical and economic status and is a natural partner of the "Belt and Road" initiative. In recent years, the world's major logistics companies have highly appreciated the important role played by Turkey in the field of global transportation. With the acceleration of the construction of China-Europe freight train services, logistics cooperation between China and Turkey is bright. Liu Taiping, General Manager of Yuxinou Logistics Company, told the press that they will develop the construction of China-Europe freight train services with all their might and strengthen the support role of these services to the regional industrial chain and supply chain.
With the advancement of logistics cooperation between China and Turkey, there have also been new developments in energy cooperation between the two countries. Chinese Harbin Electric International Company (HEI) and Progressiva, a subsidiary of Uzmanmatik, agreed to establish a 1 gigawatt-hour capacity energy storage facility and a 250 megawatt capacity wind power plant (RES) in Tekirdağ. A signing ceremony for the project was held in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, on February 21. According to the agreement, 300 million dollars of financing for the project will be provided from China through HEI. In the project, Progresiva will be the investor, HEI, EPC will be the main contractor, Pomega will be the storage systems subcontractor and Uzmanmatik will be the electrical and construction subcontractor.
The project is expected to reach the provisional acceptance stage in 2027, and the 1 gigawatt-hour storage facility is planned to be commissioned in 2025.
As a matter of fact, energy cooperation is an important part of the construction of the "Belt and Road". Today, China has cooperated in energy with more than 100 countries and regions, including Turkey, thus playing an active role in maintaining global energy security. In his speech at the signing ceremony, China's Ambassador to Turkey, Liu Shaobin, pointed out that the cooperation project on the energy storage facility with a capacity of 1 gigawatt-hour is of vital importance and explained that this constantly raises the level of new energy cooperation between China and Turkey.
On the other hand, Chinese white goods manufacturer Haier opened its third factory in the city for cooking products with an investment of 70 million euros, following the dishwashing and drying factories it previously opened in Eskişehir. Turkey's Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, said at the opening ceremony of Haier's new factory, "The company, which has invested 200 million euros in our country since the day it was founded and exported 95 percent of its production, is adding a new one to its investments today." China and Türkiye are strong manufacturing countries. Looking at the long term, it is certain that strengthening the cooperation between the two countries in the field of manufacturing will benefit both countries.
In fact, the introduction of the "Belt and Road" initiative provided a great opportunity to strengthen cooperation between China and Turkey. Turkey is one of the countries that first supported and participated in the "Belt and Road" initiative. In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a memorandum of understanding in Antalya on the harmonization of the "Belt and Road" initiative and the "Central Corridor" project. This has given a new impetus to the deepening of cooperation between the two countries and the sharing of the results of joint cooperation, opening a new page for two friendly countries connected by the Silk Road and with a long historical past.
Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi recently said that China hopes that the quality construction of the "Belt and Road" will become a driving force that accelerates the common development of the countries. Deepening the harmonization of the "Belt and Road" initiative and the "Central Corridor" project will add new dynamism to the consolidation of strategic cooperation between China and Turkey.