Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi was shown on Friday how important China's vaccine export was during his visit to Turkey.
The CoronaVac jab forms the backbone of Turkey's vaccination program, with 14 million injections having been administered since January.
Prior to a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who himself had been inoculated with the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, Wang was shown statistics on the efficacy of the vaccine and information about its rollout.
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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is shown charts about the Turkish vaccination program in Ankara, Turkey, March 25, 2021. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
"My inoculation with China's COVID-19 vaccine publicly demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of Chinese vaccines to the Turkish people and the world," Erdogan told Wang, adding that the Turkish side is willing to continue to deepen vaccine cooperation with China and explore tripartite vaccine cooperation.
The president said Turkey is willing to deepen cooperation with China in areas including infrastructure building, investment and trade, and to enhance communication with China in Middle East affairs.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Turkey, March 25, 2021. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
Wang called on the two sides to continue to support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and deepen cooperation in 5G, AI, big data as well as the digital economy.
Earlier Wang held talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu as part of his current visit to the country that comes 50 years after China and Turkey established diplomatic relations.
During the meeting, Wang promised to continue to support Turkey in the fight against the pandemic, according to a summary of the meeting published by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Turkey has ordered tens of millions more doses from Sinovac as it struggles to secure similar volumes from other manufacturers.
The two also discussed the treatment of Uygur Muslims in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region which has caused concern among members of the ethnic group living in Turkey. Wang told Cavusoglu that Beijing's policies were designed to fight terrorism and separatism, challenges that Turkey has faced for many years.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, March 25, 2021. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
Cavusoglu expressed his hopes for continued cooperation between the two countries, according to the Chinese statement.
He also discussed opportunities to link Turkey's Middle Corridor plan, which aims to foster trade throughout the region, with China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The two countries have already cooperated on large-scale projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and terminal port Kumport as part of the BRI.
Earlier in the week, Wang visited Saudi Arabia to build economic and security relations with the Gulf kingdom. He was due to travel to Iran on Friday.