China–Turkey relations (Chinese: 中国–土耳其关系; pinyin: Zhōngguó-Tǔěrqí Guānxì; Turkish: Çin–Türkiye ilişkileri) are the international relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Turkey. In modern times, official diplomatic relations were established in 1934 between the Republic of China and Turkey. Turkey recognized the PRC on 5 August 1971.
Turkey conforms to the One-China policy and recognizes the PRC as the sole legal representative of China and does not recognize the legitimacy of Republic of China (ROC) based in Taiwan. China has an embassy in Ankara, and a consulate–general in Istanbul whereas Turkey has an embassy in Beijing and consulate–generals in Hong Kong, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai. China is a founding and the leading member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization while Turkey is a SCO partner.
History
Ancient history
Historically, Chinese relations with Turkic nomadic tribes encompassed many different facets that affected their relations, although the relationship by far was mostly described in a negative light. This was stemmed by historical wars between various Chinese dynasties against various Turkic entities by that time, began from the Han–Xiongnu War when the Xiongnu ("Huns"), the ancestors of modern Turkic and Mongolian nomadic tribes, conflicted with Han dynasty.
The conflict between nomadic people, which the Turks were part of, and the Chinese, intensified under the Tang dynasty, when the Tang dynasty launched two punitive expeditions against Turkic people (Tang campaign against the Eastern Turks and Tang campaigns against the Western Turks), as well as the Turks allied with Korean Goguryeo against China. The Tang won both campaigns, and also destroyed Xueyantuo and Uighur Khanate with the help of its allies. On the other hand, China failed to eliminate Turkic resistance, which was detrimental of paving the way to the defeats of the dynasty and Chinese power. During the Battle of Talas, the Turks betrayed the Chinese Empire and joined the Arabs, ultimately expelled the Chinese out of Central Asia.
Ottoman relations with the Ming and Qing dynasties
In the 16th century, there emerged travelogues of both Ottoman travelers to China, such as the merchant Ali Akbar and Chinese travelers to the Ottoman world, such as the scholar-official Ma Li, often portraying each other's empires as being highly similar to their own. A 16th century Chinese gazetteer, Shaanxi tongzhi, claims that there were Han-Chinese people living in a number of Ottoman controlled towns and cities such as Beirut, Tartus, Konya, and Istanbul.
According to the official history of the Ming dynasty, some self-proclaimed Ottoman envoys visited Beijing to pay tribute to the Ming emperor in 1524. However, these envoys were most likely just Central and Western Asian merchants trying to conduct trade in China, since pretending to be envoys was the only way to enter the Chinese border pass. One of these merchants was Ali Akbar Khitai, who visited the Ming dynasty during the reign of Emperor Zhengde. Ali Akbar later wrote the book Khitay namah and dedicated it to Sultan Suleiman. The Ming Shilu also records Ottoman envoys reaching China in 1423, 1425, 1427, 1443–1445, 1459, 1525–1527, 1543–1544, 1548, 1554, 1559, 1564, 1576, 1581, and 1618. Some of these missions may have been from Uzbekistan, Moghulistan, or Kara Del because the Ottomans were known in China as the rulers of five realms: Turfan, Samarqand, Mecca, Rum and Hami.
According to traders in the Gujarat Sultanate, the Chinese Emperor ordered all Chinese Muslims to read the khutba in the name of the Ottoman Sultan, thus preventing religious disputes from spreading across his territory.
Kaiser Wilhelm II was so alarmed by the Chinese Muslim troops in the Boxer Rebellion that he requested the Caliph Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire to find a way to stop the Muslim troops from fighting. The Caliph agreed to the Kaiser's request and sent Enver Pasha (not the future Young Turk leader) to Qing China in 1901, but the rebellion had ended by that time.
Turkey and Republic of China
Turkish government officials received a Chinese Muslim delegation under Wang Zengshan who denounced the Japanese invasion of China.
Turkey and People's Republic of China
During the Korean War, the Turkish Brigade under the United Nations Command fought the PRC's People's Volunteer Army at multiple battles, notably the Battle of Wawon and the Third Battle of the Hook.
The People's Republic of China's began its diplomatic representation in Turkey in 1971.
In 1971, Turkey was one of 76 nations voting in favor of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 for the People's Republic of China to be China's representative at the UN, replacing the Republic of China.
On 28 November 2008, Jia Qinglin, the Chinese Communist Party's top political advisor and the Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, gave an official goodwill visit to Turkey as guest of Turkish Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan. In Ankara, Jia met Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. After visiting Ankara, Jia attended a business forum entitled "Turkish-Chinese Economic and Commercial Opportunities Forum" in Istanbul.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül has become the first Turkish president to visit China in 14 years with his official visit between 24 and 29 June 2009. Gül said one of the major goals of his visit was to boost economic relations. In Beijing, Gül held talks with Chinese leader Hu Jintao and attended a Turkey-China business forum. Following the meetings, seven cooperation agreements were signed between the two countries in the fields of energy, banking, finance and culture. After Beijing, Gül visited Xi'an and he was awarded with an honorary doctorate by the Xian Northwest University. In the third leg of his China trip, Gül visited Shenzhen. Upon an invitation of the Beijing administration, Gül also visited Ürümqi and has become the first Turkish president visiting Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
On 7 October 2010, China and Turkey signed eight cooperation agreements relating to trade, cultural and technical exchange, marine cooperation, and other things. At the signing ceremony attended by both of the countries' prime ministers, both pledged to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2015, and to cooperate in building high-speed rail to link Ankara to Istanbul. Later in November, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu toured China for six days and met with his counterpart Yang Jiechi, after Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited Turkey and upgraded the China–Turkey relationship to a strategic partnership. Among the joint pledges the foreign ministers made in China were to start a Turkish industrial zone in Xinjiang and to jointly crack down on separatism and terrorism, including on anti-China separatist activities in Turkey. Commentators have cited these stronger ties as further proof of a realignment of Turkish foreign policy to the "East".
Cooperation between China and Turkey has intensified since 2016, with the two countries signing ten bilateral agreements on various matters, including nuclear energy and health policy.
In 2017, the Chinese ambassador to Turkey Yu Hongyang said that China is ready to discuss Turkey's membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
In April 2019, China was the first country to congratulate Ekrem İmamoğlu after he became the mayor of Istanbul. Ekrem İmamoğlu told the Chinese Consul General in Istanbul Cui Wei that the political, economic, trade and cultural relations between China and Turkey are very good and important.
In July 2019, when Turkish President Erdoğan visited China, he said "It is a fact that the people of all ethnicities in Xinjiang are leading a happy life amid China's development and prosperity". Erdoğan also said that some people were seeking to "abuse" the Xinjiang crisis to jeopardize "Turkish-Chinese relationship". Beijing also invited Turkish reporters to tour the Xinjiang re-education camps. The Chinese Communist Party tabloid newspaper Global Times described the camps as a model for counter-terrorism and a "paradise" for the Uyghurs.
China criticized the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that China held "Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity must be respected and upheld", noted that several sides had "expressed concerns" over Turkey's military operation and urged Turkey to "exercise restraint".
On 21 November 2022, Qian Hongshan, deputy head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, visited Istanbul to meet with Ünal Çeviköz, an advisor to Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, as well as Yüksel Mansur Kılınç, MP for the CHP from Istanbul.
China offered monetary support to Turkey after the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. and sent additional personnel to Turkey to help in the relief effort. Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said the country would send aid and medics to the affected regions. The government of China has also announced to offer 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to Syria and 40 million yuan ($5.9 million) to Turkey as emergency humanitarian assistance.
On 14 June 2023, Turkey opened a consulate in Chengdu, its fifth mission in China, as well as the 15th diplomatic mission in the city.
Economic relations
In recent years, the economic relationship between Turkey and China have been growing rapidly. In 2000, the total bilateral trade volume between China and Turkey exceeded US$1 billion for the first time. By 2021, bilateral trade between China and Turkey increased to US$35.9 billion. As of 2023, China is Turkey's second biggest import partner, after Russia. Turkey is an active member of the Belt and Road Initiative program, with BRI investments in Turkey totaling $4 billion as of summer 2022, around 1.3 percent of total BRI investments.
In 2012, China and Turkey established a Turkish lira-Renminbi currency swap agreement. In June 2019, the People's Bank of China transferred $1 billion worth of funds to Turkey to help the Turkish economy. Later in September, China Development Bank granted a $200 million loan to the Industrial and Development Bank of Turkey. In 2021, the value of the swap was increased from $2.4 billion to $6 billion. The two countries renewed the agreement in June 2025, allowing both countries central banks to exchange as much as ₺189 billion liras or ¥35 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) between 2025 and 2028. The two central banks also agreed to establish a Renminbi clearing system in Turkey.
According to a study done in 2020, the increasing economic cooperation between China and Turkey is shaped by interest-driven calculations to bolster AKP's power internally and internationally. In June 2024, Turkey announced a 40 percent tariff on vehicle imports from China, though it announced in July that Chinese companies that invested in Turkey would be exempt from the tariffs. In 2024, Chinese EV company BYD agreed to invest $1 billion to build a factory. In October 2024, China filed a complaint against Turkey at the World Trade Organization over its imported electric vehicle tariff. In March 2025, the Turkish government announced that Chery's partners will make a US$1 billion investment in Samsun, Turkey for a manufacturing plant with a capacity to create produce 200,000 vehicles a year. In January 2026, it was revealed that the Dongfeng Motor Corporation was looking to producing passenger cars in Turkey.
Cultural relations
China and Turkey signed a cultural cooperation agreement in November 1993. The exchange programs include sports, education and news.
2018 was the "Year of Turkey" in China. A song created by Xiao Zhang called "I want to take you to romantic Turkey" became one of the most popular songs in China. During Erdoğan's visit to China in July 2019, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping said that China would make it easier for Turkish nationals to get Chinese visas.