Turkey, China say seek to expand economic tiesJuly 2, 2019 - 12:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Beijing on Tuesday, July 2 to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as the two countries seek to build on budding economic and political ties at a time both are experiencing a low point in their relations with the United States, Deutsche Welle reports. Turkey is increasingly estranged from the United States and Western allies over differences on Syria, Ankara's planned purchase of Russia's S-400 missile system and democratic backsliding following the failed coup attempt in June 2016. The fallout has fueled speculation by some observers that NATO member Turkey may be rebalancing its strategic relations away from the West to the East — not least because Erdogan has suggested Turkey could join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional security body composed of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations. Meanwhile, the ongoing US-China trade dispute coincides with the world's two largest economies being locked in a geopolitical power struggle to define the future world order. However, Erdogan's eighth meeting with Xi since 2012 is more about economics and diversifying relations, not part of a strategic shift to the East, experts said. "Turkey's relations with China cannot replace its alliance with the United States or relations with the European Union," said Altay Atli, a lecturer at Koc University in Istanbul who specializes in Turkish-Asian relations. "Turkey has very deep and mutually beneficial relations with the West." He added that Ankara's foreign policy aims to make Turkey an international actor capable of expanding relations with all countries, unlike during the Cold War when it was tied to the Western bloc. Kadir Temiz, a faculty member at Istanbul Sehir University, said that although China is becoming an important country for Turkey, the relationship centers on common interests in developing economic ties. "Their biggest differences are political and geopolitical," he said. "These political and geopolitical differences are likely to come to the fore in the future if there is a greater economic dependency." One main area of divergence between Ankara and Beijing is over the Syrian civil war, where Turkey has backed the opposition and China has economically and politically supported the regime and Russia's military intervention. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |