On June 3, 2024, Professor Liu Zhongmin at Shanghai International Studies University's Middle East Studies Institute gave an interview to Global Times on the visit of Turkey's foreign minister to China (see Global Times, June 4, 2024, page 3), which reads as follows:

Turkish FM visits China to 'enrich bilateral ties'

China has been in close communication with Muslim countries in the Middle East recently amid the worsening situation in Gaza, as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan started his visit to China on Monday, just a few days after the 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. Chinese analysts said that apart from boosting bilateral cooperation, China will strengthen cooperation and coordination with Turkey and other major powers in the region to jointly promote a sustainable cease-fire in the continuing Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Chen Wenqing, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, met with Fidan in Beijing on Monday.

Guided by the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries, China is willing to work with Turkey to bring cooperation in the field of security to new heights continuously, enrich and expand the connotations of bilateral ties further, protect the security interests of both countries in an improved manner, serve the strategic alignment of the two countries' development, and contribute actively to the peace and development of both countries, the region and the world, Chen added.

Fidan expressed willingness to continue promoting bilateral cooperation in the field of security, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Fidan will stay in China from Monday to Wednesday, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

With regard to bilateral relations, the visit will boost the China-Turkey cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, as Turkey is a key partner of China with an important location bridging Asia and Europe, and also a major power in the region, said Li Xinggang, a research fellow at the Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean Rim at Zhejiang International Studies University.

The two sides could discuss how to further activate the potential of the China-Europe Railway Express to bring more economic and trade benefits, Li noted.

Liu Zhongmin, a professor with the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday that China-Turkey relations have been stabilized in recent years, as China offered significant support and aid to Turkey after the deadly earthquake in 2023, and both sides are willing to further promote relations to boost economic growth.

After Saudi Arabia and Iran successfully reestablished diplomatic ties with the support and mediation of China in 2023, a wave of reconciliation  has occurred in the Middle East, and Turkey has also fixed its ties with other major powers, while the ongoing crisis in Gaza also further strengthens unity among Muslim countries, said analysts.

On Sunday, a day ahead of Fidan's visit to China, Iranian Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Turkey's top diplomat called on Muslim states to employ everything in their capacity to support Palestinians and stop the crimes by Israel in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In a phone call, the Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers discussed the latest developments in Gaza, particularly in its southernmost Rafah city.

Bagheri Kani called for greater cooperation among Muslim states to support the oppressed people of Gaza, adding that Muslim states should not spare any opportunity to back Palestinians. Fidan, for his part, urged greater coordination among Muslim states with regard to the issue of Palestine.

On Friday, according to Turkish media outlet Anadolu Agency, Fidan discussed the latest proposal raised in negotiations between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Indirect talks between Hamas and Israel, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, have so far failed to secure agreement on a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, said Anadolu Agency's report.

On the topic of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the tragedy in Gaza, China and Muslim countries, including Arab states, Turkey and Iran, share a similar stance calling for peace and an immediate and sustainable cease-fire to save Palestinian lives, and they all support the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and also to become a full member of the UN, while the US is playing a role to one-sidedly defend Israel and stands against the majority of the international community, said analysts.

Fidan on May 15 told Blinken over the phone that Israel's attacks on the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip are unacceptable. On the same day, Fidan spoke with Hamas political bureau chief Ismael Haniyeh over the phone to discuss the latest developments in the Gaza cease-fire negotiations, according to Xinhua.

With the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsening due to Israel's military operation defended and supported by Washington, the Biden administration is now facing increasing internal and external pressures, and even NATO allies like Turkey are dissatisfied with the role that the US is playing, which allows the bloodshed to continue in the Gaza Strip, said experts.

During Fidan's visit to China, the two countries are likely to jointly urge Israel to stop its operation in Rafah and allow humanitarian aid and supplies to enter the Gaza Strip without obstacles, and jointly push the implementation of the two-State solution.

The two sides are also likely to discuss how to build a sustainable security mechanism in the region that can effectively restrain both Israel and Palestine and that can prevent conflict in the future, Li noted.

Source: Global Times

(The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author or the interviewee, and do not represent the position of this research institution)