China-Turkey trade to expand

BEIJING - Trade relations between China and Turkey will deepen in the coming years despite inevitable frictions, experts said.

"Trade frictions between China and Turkey are inevitable as bilateral trade volume expands and the global economic slowdown intensifies export competition between the two fast-growing economies," Li Guofu, director of the Center of Middle East Studies in China Institute of International Studies, told China Daily.

"But the bilateral trade prospects are broad and will not be affected by trade frictions as China's fast development also benefits Turkey," Li said.

Gong Xiaosheng, Chinese ambassador to Turkey, agreed with the promising future in Sino-Turkish cooperation.

"As strategic partners, China and Turkey will embrace comprehensive cooperation, and the potential of cooperation under international organizations, including the United Nations, is vast," Gong said when addressing the International Conference on China in the World Order and the Turkish-Chinese Relationship in Ankara on Feb 10.

China is the third-biggest trade partner of Turkey, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Trade volume between China and Turkey surged by 24 percent year-on-year to $24.2 billion last year. Trade is expected to reach $50 billion in 2015 and $100 billion in 2020, a goal set by Premier Wen Jiabao and his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan during his visit to Turkey in October 2010.

However, trade has not always grown smoothly. Turkey had launched 47 anti-dumping investigations against Chinese exports as of August 2008, in addition to six special safeguard measures and 18 general safeguard measures.