WATCH: Michal Bardavid reports from Ankara on these special meetings

China's top diplomat has been holding talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other key figures in the newly re-elected AKP administration on his one-day trip to Türkiye.

The visit has been described by Ankara and Beijing as an opportunity to develop intergovernmental cooperation in areas of concern.

Before his meeting with Erdogan in Ankara, Chinese senior diplomat Wang Yi first met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, where the conflict in Ukraine is understood to have been discussed.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said talks also included "harmonization of the initiatives of (China's) Belt and Road and Middle Corridor."

With the disruption of existing trade routes through Russian and Belarusian territory, there are renewed diplomatic efforts around the establishment of the so-called 'Middle Corridor' linking Europe and China via Central Asia, the Caucasus and Türkiye. 

Ankara is seeking China's cooperation in integrating a new economic zone along the route.

Belt and Road Investment

Wang Yi's trip to Türkiye was announced last week, and is part of a tour that will take in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa after the recent BRICS meeting in Johannesburg.

His talks with Erdogan focused on areas of direct trade and bilateral ties between China and Türkiye, which officially joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2015.

The total level of BRI investment in Türkiye now exceeds $4 billion and both sides are keen to expand negotiations in areas including energy, agriculture, tourism and health. 

More than 10 million people in Türkiye were vaccinated with Beijing-based Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine at the height of the pandemic.

China and Türkiye have already collaborated on critical infrastructure projects over the past decade, notably the second phase of the Ankara-Istanbul high speed railway.

China has also made significant investments in Türkiye's transportation and logistics sectors, notably buying a controlling stake in Istanbul's Kumport container terminal, the third-biggest port in Türkiye for $940 million in 2015.

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