Relationship dossier
Turkey
People's Republic of China
Relationship assessment
Economic and strategic cooperation coexists with tensions over Xinjiang and an unratified extradition treaty.
Turkey toward People's Republic of China
+20Turkey has participated in Belt and Road-related cooperation with China and maintains a bilateral strategic cooperation framework. Turkish officials have also raised concerns about the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, making the issue a recurring sensitivity in relations.
People's Republic of China toward Turkey
+20China has pursued strategic and economic cooperation with Turkey, including through Belt and Road-related arrangements. The two governments signed an extradition treaty in 2017, but it has not entered into force.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship combines institutional and economic cooperation with unresolved political sensitivities. Belt and Road-related engagement and the strategic cooperation framework provide a basis for collaboration, while Xinjiang-related concerns and the unratified extradition treaty complicate ties.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and China have pursued economic and strategic cooperation, including Turkey’s participation in Belt and Road-related arrangements and a bilateral strategic cooperation framework. Their relationship is also affected by Turkish concerns about Uyghurs in Xinjiang and by the unratified extradition treaty signed in 2017. Cooperation is concrete but coexists with recurring sensitivities.
Areas of tension
- Turkish concerns about the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang
- The extradition treaty signed in 2017 has not entered into force
Key developments
Turkey and China established a strategic cooperation framework.
Turkey and China signed a memorandum on cooperation related to the Belt and Road Initiative.
The two governments signed an extradition treaty, which has not entered into force.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral economic and strategic cooperation arrangements are unclear.
- The treaty on extradition signed in 2017 has not entered into force, and its future status is uncertain.
- The extent to which Xinjiang-related concerns affect current Turkish government policy is unclear.