China is interested in implementing a large-scale project to modernize Turkey's railway infrastructure, the Eurasiantimes website reports.
China is expected to invest about 60 billion USD in offering Europe as an alternative to Russian routes to provide European carriers with alternative logistics routes that bypass Russia amid the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
The president of the state investment agency Invest in Turkey Burak Daglioglu gave details of the project in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
The new transport and logistics concept includes electrification of existing railway lines, construction of new routes in the country, construction of a new bridge in Istanbul and the creation of a high-speed railway between Istanbul and Ankara.
The project will be part of China's larger "One Belt, One Road" initiative (BRI), aimed at connecting Europe and Asia. Turkey was one of the first countries to support this initiative and signed a memorandum of cooperation in 2015, integrating OBOR with the concept of a “middle corridor“.
One of the key participants in the project could be the Chinese state-owned corporation CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive, which already has a factory in Turkey. Earlier, the company presented the fastest metro train in Istanbul, receiving recognition for its achievements.
It is expected that an open tender will be held for the implementation of the project, in which other companies will also participate.
China's investment in Turkey's railway infrastructure could be an important step towards creating closer economic ties between the East and the West. The new railway network will provide not only faster logistics, but also alternative routes for freight transport, which is of key importance in the current geopolitical tensions.
In addition to the railway sector, China has also shown interest in other areas of the Turkish economy, including technological development, electric vehicle production and energy projects. As of mid-2024, total Chinese investment in Turkey amounted to about 6 billion USD, distributed among 1,300 companies.
Tourism is also becoming an important area of cooperation between the two countries. In 2024 Turkey was visited by 300,000 Chinese tourists, slightly more than last year but still below the level of 2019, when the country was visited by 500,000 tourists.
Ankara is actively working to attract more tourists from China, including by developing cultural exchanges and marketing programs in Chinese provinces, Daglioglu said.
“We would like to develop cooperation in the field of tourism and cultural events,“ he added.