Turkish-Chinese Relations

After the end of the Cold War, Central Asia was born as a post-Soviet region where are located five newly independent republics: Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It has become an area for international and regional competition in many aspects. There is not any kind of institutional cooperation among regional states. It makes the region open for other actors’ policies. Non-regional actors are the subject of this competition in different areas and at different levels. It is possible to divide these actors into two groups among themselves as first-level and second-level states. Russia, China, and United States are in the first-level group in terms of their potential material and ideological capacities. Turkey is one of the second-level states in competition in Central Asia with such as Iran, Arab states, Pakistan, India, Japan, etc. They are mainly regional powers. The main reason for grouping non-regional states as the first and second category is their dominance in traditional (economy, security, and military cooperation) and non-traditional foreign policy aspects (soft power policies in cultural and educational fields).

“One  Belt  and  One  Road”  project,  currently  being implemented by China, is of great interest to Turkey. Although Turkey is  not  directly  included  in  the  project,  if  the  project  succeeds  the resulting change  in the  international balance of trade  would  certainly affect  Turkey.  The  project,  which  can  also  be  called  a  21st  century
reimagining of the original Silk Road, will not only make China’s products and natural resources more readily available for global trade but will have the same effect on Turkestan states (Central Asian states) like from this point on, Turkey will continue its role as both a cultural and geographical bridge  between Europe and Asia. In this study, the benefits and risks of the “One Belt and One Road” project will not be discussed.  The  focal  point  of  this  study  will  be  on  the  cultural  and historical  bond  between  Anatolian  Turks  and  Turkestan  Turks  and from  this  basis,  the  cooperation  opportunities  between  China, Turkestan  and  Turkey.  This  is  a  precursor  to  a  more  comprehensive study.

Despite the importance and improvement of multi-dimensional Turkish-Chinese relations, Turkish decision makers have had difficulties reconciling their Pan-Islamic ideological rhetoric and the demands of realpolitik. While Ankara recognizes the need to form good relations with China, its selfassigned role as the protector of "oppressed Muslims" has, so far, trapped Turkey between realpolitik and the purism of ideology. Having acknowledged this clash, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has moved to neutralize the discord that has existed between Turkey's national interests and its Pan-Islamic ideological rhetoric. Erdoğan's new China strategy promises to pave the way for solid, stable relations between Turkey and China.

Özet

Türkiye-Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti (ÇHC) ilişkileri diplomatik olarak 1971 yılında kurulmuştur. Ancak tarihi geçmiş değerlendirildiğinde, Türk-Çin ilişkileri Doğu Asya'ya dayanan binlerce yıllık bir geçmişe sahiptir. Genel olarak iki ülke arası ilişkiler düşük yoğunluklu bir seyir izlemiştir. Bu seyrin son yirmi yılı, Türkiye'nin yasama ve denetim faaliyetlerinin yürütüldüğü ve gündemin hem iktidar hem de muhalefet milletvekilleri tarafından değerlendirildiği, Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi faaliyetleri üzerinden analiz edilmiştir. Türkiye-Çin ilişkilerinin TBMM faaliyetlerinde iki temel hatta ilerlediği görülmüştür: Doğu Türkistan ve dış ticaret özelinde ekonomi. Bu bağlamda, 1999-2019 tarihleri arasında yer alan 21., 22., 23., 24., 26. ve 27. TBMM dönemleri değerlendirilmiş, yasama ve denetim faaliyetlerinde Çin ile ilgili meselelerin görüşüldüğü tutanaklar incelenerek önemli konuşma ve denetim çalışmaları örneklendirilmiştir. Ayrıca, sebepleri de analiz edilerek, genel olarak Türk parlamenterlerin Çin'e yönelik olumsuz bir söylem geliştirdiğini gösteren bir söylem analizi yapılmıştır.

Abstract

The diplomatic relations between the Republic of Turkey and the People's Republic of China (PRC) were established in 1971. However, when the historical background is examined, the Turkish-Chinese relations have thousands of years' history which dates back to East Asia. The bilateral relations between two countries has followed a low-density course in general. The last twenty years of this course has been analyzed in terms of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) where Turkey's legislative and auditing activities are executed and the agenda is assessed by the deputies of both ruling and opposition parties. It has been found out that the Turkish-Chinese relations have reflected on two main issues among the GNAT activities: East Turkestan and the economy specified on foreign trade. In this context, the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th and 27th GNAT terms from 1999 to 2019 has been analyzed; some prominent speeches and supervisory activities have been exemplified by examining the parliamentary minutes of legislative and supervisory activities which discussed the issues related to China. Moreover, a discourse analysis has been made which demonstrated that the Turkish parliamentarians have adopted a negative discourse towards China, together with studying its reasons.