Caglayan continues trade talks in China

State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan, currently in China for trade talks, met with the trade advisors of Turkish embassies in the Asia-Pacific region in Beijing over the weekend. Accompanied by Turkish private sector representatives, he met with Turkey's trade advisors in 15 countries, and discussed ways to improve exports to these countries. Speaking at the inauguration of a Turkish Trade Center in Beijing, Caglayan said according to recent predictions, China has $2.1 trillion of foreign exchange reserves, and said Turkey wants to attract those resources through Chinese investments in Turkish financial markets. Noting that $800 billion of China's reserves are in US bonds and the rest in other monetary units, Caglayan said he wants China to buy bonds and eurobonds from Turkey with these resources. China could also open banks in Turkey, added Caglayan, saying this would spur bilateral relations. Saying that Turkey's domestic and foreign debt balance is very positive, Caglayan said eurobonds are important for fresh money flow in Turkey. Caglayan said that 70 percent of Turkey's exports to China have to do with the mining sector, adding that a big Chinese mining company would soon send 10 of its engineers to Turkey, as China is bullish on the Turkish mining sector. Caglayan said Chinese and Turkish contractors would cooperate in third countries under a Joint Economic Committee Protocol. On the new Turkish Trade Center, Caglayan said this office would undertake the important mission of developing trade with China, adding that it would guide Turkish businessmen who want to export to China. Caglayan also urged Turkish industrialists to focus on ways to boost Turkey's exports to China instead of protecting themselves from cheap Chinese imports, adding that Turkey's exports to China have tripled in the last three years from $500 million to $1.5 billion. Still, he underlined, this figure is only one per thousand of China's annual imports. Caglayan also attended a signing ceremony on joint construction project in a third country between Turkish and Chinese companies.