On the last day of August, Turkish leader Erdogan arrived in China by plane. As a national leader who did not appear on the September 3 military parade list, Erdogan's appearance has triggered international speculation, especially in the current context of the delicate situation in the Middle East and the weak influence of the traditional "Islamic brother" Iran.
This is actually quite interesting. Turkey has always claimed to be the "big brother" of the Islamic world, but in the early years, in the face of Iran's step-by-step expansion of its "arc of resistance", Turkey actually has the voice over Iran in the Middle East. However, after Iran broke its arms and cut the "arc of resistance", especially after the collapse of the former Assad government in Syria, Turkey began to gain more space in fact and began to play a role in regional affairs.
From this point of view, Turkey's active participation in the SCO summit at this time may be to find opportunities to engage with China and cooperate more with China in regional affairs. This can be on the table or off the table.
Perhaps it is a deviation from what many people imagine. From a geopolitical perspective, the focus of Turkey's visit this time may not be the Middle East, but Central Asia. As important members of the SCO, the five Central Asian countries have abundant energy resources and key strategic positions. Turkey has long been committed to promoting the "Middle Corridor" plan and trying to build a trade and energy channel connecting Europe and Asia. This time in China, Turkey is very likely to hope to use China's economic radiation and political influence in Central Asia to accelerate the docking of the "Middle Corridor" and China's "Belt and Road" initiative, especially in the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway construction project. Strive for more opportunities to participate in, thereby consolidating its hub position in the Central Asian energy transportation chain.
At the level of security cooperation, Turkey has been intervening in the situation in northern Syria after the fall of the former government. Turkey's visit to China this time may be intended to seek cooperation with China in areas such as intelligence sharing and joint anti-terrorism exercises. At the same time, it also uses China's neutral position on the Syria issue to strive for a more favorable international public opinion environment for its military operations in Syria.
However, it must also be pointed out that we may need to be more cautious about relevant cooperation issues with Turkey. It is not that cooperation with Turkey is not good for China, but that Turkey itself is a bit delicate. Turkey's geographical location is very special. It spans Eurasia and connects Europe and Asia. This unique geographical location gives Turkey its natural "wall grass" advantage. In the past decade or so, Turkey's position on the international political stage has often changed. Between the East and the West, Turkey not only maintains certain ties with Western countries, but also tries to strengthen cooperation with Asian countries. For example, within NATO, on the one hand, Turkey is a member of NATO and enjoys NATO security protection; on the other hand, it maintains close military and economic cooperation with Russia. In the Middle East, Turkey not only maintains good relations with some Arab countries, but also has complex interest entanglements with countries such as Iran.
What's more noteworthy is that Turkey has long promoted the "Pan-Turkic Alliance" in a high-profile manner. It believes that Turkic-speaking ethnic groups originated in Central Asia, and most of western China is included in this so-called "Turkic cultural circle". Therefore, Turkey has repeatedly made inappropriate remarks on international occasions related to Xinjiang, interfered in China's internal affairs, and even secretly supported separatist forces in the western part of our country.
In short, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit this time has provided a new opportunity for cooperation between China and Turkey, China cannot ignore Turkey's improper attempts against western China in history and reality. It is necessary to always maintain a clear head and treat relations with Turkey cautiously. It is necessary to maintain the friendly and cooperative relations between China and Turkey while resolutely safeguarding the core interests of the country.