Beijing, Ankara vow to boost mutual trust

Editor's note: President Xi Jinping held three respective meetings on Thursday with world leaders on the sidelines of the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The following are highlights of Xi's talk with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

China and Turkiye should support each other in defending their core interests, consolidate political mutual trust and advance high-level mutually beneficial cooperation, President Xi Jinping said when meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Noting that relations "have maintained a steady momentum", Xi emphasized that Beijing encourages the two countries to expand bilateral trade.

China supports increased investment by the nation's companies in Turkiye, seeks to advance cooperation in infrastructure projects in an orderly manner, and encourages more Chinese citizens to travel to Turkiye, he added.

Xi said the two countries share many similar or identical views on issues such as the Palestine-Israel conflict and the Ukraine crisis, and they should communicate more closely.

Erdogan said that Turkiye values the development of its relations with China, and it unswervingly adheres to the one-China principle and respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Turkiye welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in the nation and more Chinese tourists to visit, he said.

Ankara hopes that the two countries will further strengthen the synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative with Turkiye's development vision, and expand cooperation in areas such as the economy and trade, infrastructure and clean energy, he added.

Turkiye appreciates Beijing's important contribution to world peace, including its fair and just stance on the Palestinian question, and it looks to strengthen communication and collaboration with Beijing in the multilateral context, he said.