China, Turkey Issue Joint Declaration on Establishing Strategic Relationship of Cooperation

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) meets with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 8, 2010. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

ANKARA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- China and Turkey on Friday issued a joint declaration on the establishment and development of a strategic relationship of cooperation, further upgrading the level of bilateral relations.

The two emerging developing countries agreed to maintain the momentum of high-level exchange of visits, deepen political mutual trust, expand bilateral friendly exchanges and formally launch a mechanism of joint working group of the two foreign ministries, the declaration said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was in Turkey for an official visit Thursday through Saturday at the invitation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During his visit, Premier Wen met with President Abdullah Gul and held talks with Prime Minister Erdogan. In a frank, friendly and pragmatic atmosphere, leaders of the two countries had an in-depth exchange of views on how to further expand and deepen China-Turkey mutually beneficiary cooperation in all fields and on regional as well as international issues of common interest, reaching broad consensus, the declaration said.

The two sides made an overall review of and highly appraised the development of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction over the fruitful achievements in the relations.

It is the shared view of the two sides that as emerging developing countries, both China and Turkey are at an important stage of development, the declaration said.

"With the historical background of deep and complex changes in the international situation, the continuous expansion of China-Turkey friendly relations and cooperation, both in scale and content, will not only benefit the two peoples, but also contribute to regional and world peace, stability and development," it added.

Based on the common political will of further upgrading the level of China-Turkey relations and promoting friendly cooperation in all fields in a comprehensive manner, the two sides have agreed to:

-- Reiterate their adherence to the basic principles set forth in the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Turkey on Aug. 4, 1971 and the Joint Communique between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Turkey on April 19, 2000.

-- Establish and develop a strategic relationship of cooperation.

-- Maintain the momentum of high-level exchange of visits, deepen political mutual trust and support each other on issues of core interest, further expand and deepen economic and trade cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit and reciprocity.

-- Expand friendly exchanges between parliaments, parties and local authorities, push forward friendly cooperation in fields such as investment, energy, education, culture, sports, tourism, media, security, defense and transportation.

-- Work together to safeguard regional peace and stability.

-- Address all kinds of global challenges and push forward multipolarization and democratization of international relations, and deploy concerted efforts to build a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity.

-- Formally launch a "Mechanism of Joint Working Group of the Two Foreign Ministries" in 2011, and gradually enrich the mechanism in content and function, making it an important channel for strategic dialogue and consultations between the two sides.

-- Exert their efforts to make the "China Culture Year" in Turkey in 2012 and "Turkey Culture Year" in China in 2013 a complete success.

Source: Chinaview