China-Turkey friendship has grown closer amid COVID-19 pandemic

China and Turkey have always understood and supported each other and they are cooperating hand in hand to cope with the severe public health threat of the novel coronavirus.

Their anti-virus cooperation fully reflects the resilience and strength of their relations, and the prospects for strategic cooperation between the two countries is becoming even more promising.

Although the virus is heartless, the two countries sympathize with each other. Their state leaders, scientists, medical workers and other people contributing to the anti-pandemic campaign took immediate actions and declared war on the virus with a great sense of responsibility.

They have practiced the spirit of respecting life and the human-oriented principle, as well as advocating science and cooperation, which has laid a solid foundation for their all-round and all-dimensional anti-pandemic cooperation.

The two countries have offered mutual political support. President Xi Jinping held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in early April, during which the two sides reached broad consensus on anti-pandemic cooperation and bilateral relations.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi also talked with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the phone twice to discuss fully implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has spoken highly of China's achievements in the fight, and both sides supported the World Health Organization's authority and leadership in promoting global anti-pandemic efforts.

The two countries have also extended mutual support to meet each other's demand for pandemic prevention materials. In the early stage of China's battle against the novel coronavirus, Turkey donated two batches of masks, protective suits and other urgently needed medical materials to Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

These supplies offered strong support for China's pandemic prevention and control in the initial phase.

After infections were detected in Turkey in March, China assisted Turkey to connect with qualified Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises, to help it procure high-quality detection reagents, medicine and medical equipment in China.

Chinese enterprises and individuals in Turkey have also actively taken actions to assist local anti-pandemic work by organizing donations of money, masks and protective suits.

The two countries have also shared their pandemic control experiences, which has benefited the two peoples directly, and strengthened cooperation on vaccine development.

The Chinese side shared its diagnosis and treatment protocol for patients with COVID-19 and its pandemic prevention and control plan with Turkey.

In March, China invited the Turkish health ministry to attend a video seminar between China and West Asian and North African countries on responding to COVID-19.

China's Hunan and Hubei provinces organized experts to hold videoconferences with experts from the Turkish Ministry of Health in April and June respectively. They engaged in in-depth exchanges on the diagnosis and treatment of infections and shared their respective virus control experiences, so that both sides could learn from each other and improve.

A Phase III clinical trial of the experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by a Beijing-based company began in Turkey in September and is progressing well.
Meanwhile, people-to-people interactions have strengthened the determination of the two countries to overcome the pandemic, with sister areas and cities of the two countries interacting closely.

The governor of Turkey's Yalova province sent a letter to China's Henan province to express his firm support. Subsequently, Henan also donated a large number of anti-pandemic materials to Yalova to meet its urgent needs.

On social media platforms, a large number of Chinese and Turkish internet users spontaneously shot videos to encourage each other.

During the pandemic, the economic and trade cooperation and direct investment of the two countries have made significant achievements despite the global economic downturn.

The trade volume between China and Turkey from January to September was $17.02 billion, up 14.1 percent year-on-year.

In that period, the two countries signed new contracts of contracting projects worth $2.7 billion, an increase of 416.2 percent over the same period last year.

Turkey's aquatic and dairy products have entered the Chinese market. Local dairy companies exported the first batch of whey powder worth $200 million to China in July.

Chinese enterprises and their Turkish partners overcame the difficulties of the pandemic to successfully complete a photovoltaic industrial park in Ankara and put it into operation.

China has made great strategic achievements in its pandemic prevention and control work, and it is a foregone conclusion that China's economy will witness positive growth for the year.

The Turkish government is also making every effort to prevent the rebound of the pandemic while promoting the resumption of work and production in an orderly manner. Statistics show that Turkey's economy has achieved growth of 6.7 percent in the third quarter.

In October, China's leadership unveiled a blueprint for the country's future, setting economic and social development goals for the next five years and long-range objectives through the year 2035. Turkey is also making solid progress toward its 2023 Vision and the centennial of the Republic of Turkey.

In recent years, the strategic cooperation between China and Turkey has made great progress. The two sides are both emerging-market economies, G20 members and natural partners in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative.

China and Turkey will certainly be able to overcome the current difficulties and deal with the challenges brought about by the pandemic in a safe and orderly manner. Next year, the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. China is willing to work with Turkey to deepen practical cooperation and enhance sustained and in-depth development of their strategic cooperative relations.

The author is the Chinese ambassador to Turkey. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.