Istanbul to continue efforts to promote Turkey-China ties: deputy governor

A deputy governor of Istanbul on Thursday pledged all efforts to promote relations between Turkey and China "in every field."

Addressing a reception hosted by the Chinese Consulate General to mark the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ismail Gultekin referred to the fact that Turkey and China have developed commercial and cultural relations for many years through the historical Silk Road and established close ties.

"As for the Istanbul governor's office, we will continue to do our best to contribute to the development of the relations between the two countries in every field," he said.

Cui Wei, the Chinese consul general in Istanbul, drew attention to the progress made in bilateral economic cooperation under China's Road and Belt Initiative during the past five years, including more than 100 billion U.S. dollars in bilateral trade, a growth of 120 percent in terms of China's investment in Turkey, and the establishment of branches or offices in Turkey by 1,000 Chinese companies.

The Belt and Road Initiative, formally known as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Africa and Europe along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

The overall trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road has hit 5 trillion dollars since the initiative was proposed five years ago, and China has made a total investment of 70 billion dollars in these countries, thus creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in tax revenue for them, Cui said. Enditem