China’s newly-returned Foreign Minister Wang Yi followed his recent trip to BRICS meetings in South Africa with a stopover in potential future BRICS member Türkiye. Wang met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
They didn’t hold press briefings, but the conversation reportedly touched on mutual investments, possible collaboration on nuclear energy, the Ukraine war, and new developments in Middle Eastern politics.
Also on the agenda: Chinese containment of Uyghur populations in Xinjiang. Türkye has been the rare Middle Eastern country to criticize China on the treatment of the Islamic minority.
In January, a top Turkish diplomat said relations with China have “slowed down” because of the Uyghur issue. Türkiye has a significant Uyghur population and historical ties to the community.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Türkiye is a diplomatic wild card who often plays Western and non-Western powers off against each other. The visit is a notable temperature check on its relationship with China, which will undoubtedly be closely watched in Europe.
SUGGESTED READING:
- Daily Sabah: China’s New Foreign Minister Makes First Visit to Türkiye
- Reuters: New Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Talks Ukraine in Turkey on First Trip
Highlights from Recent BRICS Gatherings in South Africa:
- GLOBAL SECURITY: In Johannesburg, Wang called for joint efforts to ensure global security, while respecting individual countries’ own security concerns and initiatives. This sat somewhat awkwardly next to calls by Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval for the BRICS bloc to list international terrorism suspects under the UN’s anti-terrorism regime. Pakistan and China recently cooperated to block a similar call by India to list terror suspects resident in Pakistan under the same regime.
- GLOBAL SOUTH: Wang foregrounded the role of the Global South in the international community. He said: “We should insist on placing development at the centre of the international agenda … and safeguard the legitimate right to development of developing countries,” a reference to a long-standing dispute with the U.S. about whether development should be considered a human right. He also defended China’s status as a Global South power, saying it “will always be a member of the developing world family.”
- NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK: Meanwhile, the BRICS bloc’s Shanghai-headquartered New Development Bank announced that it is not currently considering any new projects in Russia, in line with international sanctions. NDB head Dilma Rousseff tweeted that reports of new Russian projects are “unfounded.”
