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Consul general in Shanghai enthusiastic about new link between Turkey and China
EDITOR’S Note:
MR Ozcan Sahin was appointed Turkish consul general to Shanghai last September. Shanghai Daily reporter Li Xinran met him recently to discuss the deepening ties between Turkey and China.
Q: The bilateral trade between Turkey and China reached US$22.2 billion in 2013, up 16.3 percent from a year before. What do you think is the reason behind it?
A: I believe there are two and a half dimensions here. The first one is a strong political will and determination by the two countries. The second is about mutual benefits. And with regards to the specific year, i.e. 2013, I think global economic conjunction also helped.
Let me first explore the political dimension. We need to remember that Turkey and China since 2010 have been naming each other strategic partners. This was achieved during the last prime ministerial visit. Therefore, high-level visits between the two countries are rather rich.
For example, (former) President Abdullah Gul paid a historic visit to China in 2009. Since I was on President Gul’s foreign policy team at the time, I clearly remember His Excellency, President Xi Jinping visiting Turkey in 2012 as well.
The latest high-level exchange between the two countries was last year in Shanghai for the CICA (Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia) Summit. Then Turkish Foreign Minister Professor Ahmet Davutoglu, who is now Turkish PM, was in Shanghai for this summit. On this occasion, the CICA chairmanship was handed over from Turkey to China, which will also be the case for the G-20 next year. That explains how strong the political dimension of this relationship is.
With such an encouragement from the highest level, trade, commerce and economic relations are also taking up. China is our third biggest trading partner. Total trade volume in our calculations is close to US$30 billion.
What is equally important is that the legal framework of this relationship is solid. First there is the framework agreement on financial cooperation. Second there is a swap deal in place in terms of facilitating payments in RMB and Turkish Lira. That helps transactions, finances and increasing commercial contact.
It is in this context that there is a growing interest in financial cooperation. For instance, Garanti and Isbank, two reputable Turkish banks, do have representation in Shanghai. Likewise, Bank of China has a representation in Turkey and ICBC has been in talks for quite some time to make a substantial acquisition in Turkey. In a nutshell, the legal backdrop is in a way pushing forward not only trade but also other aspects of economic relations between the two countries.
If we are to add a supplementary dimension, I think a favorable global economic outlook was also a plus.
Let’s remember that after the subprime market shock in 2008, it took a couple of years to restore some confidence in the global economy.
With the good measures taken by the international community (both by each nation and within G-20 in which both Turkey and China are members) things have gradually improved.
And the boom in commercial ties between Turkey and China was achieved under such circumstances.
Q: Shanghai has set up its free trade zone. What is your appraisal of the city’s latest effort to boost international trade and economic ties with other countries and regions? What kind of role do you think it will play for bilateral trade between Turkey and China?
A: I’m here four months now and I can see that Pilot Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) is one of the priorities here. It’s definitely one of the hottest topics. I follow it just like my colleagues in Shanghai with a very keen interest.
As it seems, FTZ is going to be bigger in size in terms of the area covered, and the negative list which sets the areas open to foreign companies within the free trade zone will be further elaborated.
On top of that comes one-off-window system that eases up paperwork and customs clearance. These are fantastic opportunities to attract more business, finance and trade. And as far as I can see, they are in line with the established policy of opening up and greater integration with the global economy.
By good practices, FTZ Shanghai also sets a precedent for similar initiatives elsewhere in China. I followed from the press that Prime Minister Li Keqiang paid his very first domestic visit this year to Guangdong for such a purpose.
At the moment we are following how the Pilot Shanghai Free Trade Zone evolves and exploring how we could help Turkish business benefit from this beautiful initiative. There are some ideas floating that need to be further developed. We are trying to see how we can make best use of FTZ Shanghai.
Q: Marmaray Tunnel has opened to traffic, which made railway trains capable of traveling between London and Beijing. It was last May that China assumed chairmanship of CICA from Turkey and after that vowed to develop the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. What is Turkey’s plan for the new silk roads?
A: Looking at it from Shanghai, I think Turkey and China share similar views on global and regional security. Both countries would like to see a more peaceful, stable and secure global environment not only from a national interest point of view but also for greater common good.
This is a precondition that helps us all to live and prosper peacefully. And security is obviously indivisible. That means we shall not consider security a zero-sum-game. There cannot be winners and losers in a holistic approach to security. We all bear the responsibility to work side by side on this.
In other words, we need to cooperate. A similar notion which is based on mutual trust, equality and coordination reads through the New Asian Security Concept under China’s CICA chairmanship. It is an understanding that prioritizes cooperation opportunities, mutual benefits and bringing countries closer.
In that perspective, one aspect is of course extremely crucial. That is the connection between countries by means of transport. Take China and Turkey, for example; it is great that there is one direct flight in and out from Shanghai to Istanbul each day. More would be better.
And there is no doubt that facilitating other means of transport would also be helpful. The recent wave of discussion around the Silk Road can be taken within this context. At this point, I can give some personal reflections. I was lucky to study this as part of my previous portfolio from a Turkish perspective.
Indeed our engagement in revitalization of this ancient road dates a few years back. Marmaray, which is a connection with a tunnel beneath Bogazici (or Bosphorus as some call it) between the Asian and European parts of Istanbul, is currently a rail link, a subway link. Now it only carries commuters. The work to expand Marmaray to cover road and freight traffic is currently under way. This is because it is part of a bigger vision to provide in time a link not only to carry passengers but also commercial cargo.
Another part of that vision is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail connection. The work on that line has been under way for a couple of years now and it will hopefully be finished within a year. Initial transport capacity is calculated to be around 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tons of commercial cargo per year. By 2034, 3 million passengers and 70 million tons of freight can be within reach.
And it is possible to extend this link in the future across the Caspian all the way to here, China. So it is part of a vision concerning a big geographical, socioeconomic and cultural zone. This is what we call the Middle Route or the Modern Silk Road.
Does the whole thing make sense commercially? I think it does. The total monetary equivalent of commercial freight between Asia and Europe in both east-west and north-south directions is around US$75 billion each year. We can add numbers in terms of passenger transportation to this picture, as well.
In light of these, it seems that there is ground to explore cooperation opportunities between what Turkey has established, and is trying to develop in relation to the Middle Route, and “One Belt, One Road” vision aired last year by the Chinese President, His Excellency Xi Jinping.
The more we work, the better we can see what else can be done for a broad approach. But for that I guess a more clear picture as to what Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road entail is needed.
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