Turkish envoy hails China's growth vision

China's recently unveiled blueprint for national development has drawn wide international attention, including from Ankara.

Turkiye's newly appointed ambassador in Beijing, Selcuk Unal, has expressed optimism about the country's economic growth and the underlying opportunities it is generating, saying his country is eager to tap into China's growing potential.

The fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, convened in Beijing in October, adopted recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), outlining China's economic and social development priorities for the next five years.

For Unal, the key document offers insights into not only China's future trajectory but also emerging global trends.

Describing the blueprint as "illuminating", he said countries worldwide are studying it closely. "It gives key messages to the Chinese economy," he told China Daily.

Unal highlighted the focus on innovation, technology and artificial intelligence, calling these sections "most interesting" and noting that its focus areas carry global implications.

This deep interest in China's economic direction is shaped in part by his long-term perspective. He visited China 15 years ago as part of a ministerial delegation. Having returned as ambassador in August, Unal said he was amazed at how much China has changed. "China has developed immensely," he said.

This is where Unal sees broad scope for cooperation between the two countries, hoping to strengthen trade and investment engagement.

Historically, the ties between the two civilizations date back to the ancient Silk Road. Today, the legacy is embodied in partnership under the Belt and Road Initiative, Unal said.

"We have been supporting it from the very beginning," he said, voicing hopes to achieve deeper integration through connectivity frameworks.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in 2015 to align the China-proposed BRI and Turkiye's Middle Corridor Initiative, paving the way for stronger two-way investment and trade.

The alignment has translated into tangible connectivity gains. Freight trains departing in July from Chongqing and Chengdu reached Turkiye via the Middle Corridor in just 15 days. Unal, who recently visited Chongqing to observe the collaboration firsthand, said he has witnessed the integration materializing.

Currently, China is Turkiye's largest trading partner in Asia and its largest source of imports. Their bilateral trade volume surpassed $42 billion last year, according to Chinese customs data.

Tourism represents a promising sector, with Turkiye hosting more than 400,000 Chinese visitors last year, Unal said. "We would like to see more Chinese friends visit Turkiye."

While diplomacy and trade are crucial, he said human connections form the true foundation of strong bilateral ties. "People-to-people relationship is always much more important," he said.

Turkiye has several cultural and language institutions supporting this engagement.

Four Confucius Institutes operate within Turkish universities, and since 2021, a Turkish cultural institute in China has been promoting language learning and cultural understanding. Meanwhile, Chinese universities host 13 Turkish language or literature departments.

"We'd like to increase the cooperation between Turkish and Chinese academia, and expand opportunities for students," Unal said.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Turkiye in 1971, "we have been supportive of the one-China policy", he said. "That is clear. We attach high importance to that main principle."

Next year marks the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations, he said. As China embarks on its 15th Five-Year stage, he envisions this anniversary as a catalyst for even deeper ties across all fields in the years ahead, blending history with modern ambitions.

"We have a historical relationship, and we aim to promote this dialogue," he said.