Press Release Regarding The Visit Of H.e. Mr. Xi Jinping, Vice President Of The People's Republic Of China, To Turkey, 16 February 2012 , 16.02.2012
No: 46, 16 February 2012
Upon the invitation of H.E. Mr. Abdullah Gül, President of the Republic of Turkey, H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping, Vice President of the People's Republic of China (PRC), will pay an official visit to Turkey on 20-22 February 2012 in the framework of his tour comprising the USA, Ireland and Turkey.
During the meetings to be held with President Gül on 21 February, bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues will be taken up. The Chinese Vice President is envisaged to meet with H.E. Mr. Cemil Çiçek, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey the same day.
The Chinese Vice President will attend the Turkey-China Business Forum to be held in Istanbul on 22 February and address Turkish and Chinese businessmen and investors.
Relations between Turkey and the PRC have gained impetus with the recent high-level visits and were elevated to the level of “strategic cooperation” in 2010. 2011 was celebrated as the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, furthermore, 2012 and 2013 have been declared as “the Year of China in Turkey” and “the Year of Turkey in China” respectively.
H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping’s first ever visit to Turkey as the Vice President of the PRC will provide an opportunity to exchange views on issues on the bilateral agenda at a first hand basis and will contribute to the diversification of the relations on the basis of strategic cooperation in the coming period.