From February 6 to 8, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade organized a delegation of entrepreneurs to visit Istanbul and Ankara in Turkey, marking an important economic and trade exchange activity between China and Turkey on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The delegation, led by Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, engaged in extensive contact with Turkish political and business figures to jointly implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state during their previous meeting in Tianjin.
During the visit, both sides jointly held the 3rd China-Turkey Economic and Trade Forum. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) renewed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Turkish Committee for Foreign Economic Relations and the Turkish Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attracting over 300 representatives from various sectors of China and Turkey to engage in exchanges and discussions on key areas of cooperation. Turkish political and business leaders highly praised the resilience of China’s economic development, believing that the prospects for cooperation in the supply chain sector are broad. They expressed expectations to further expand trade and investment cooperation during the upcoming “15th Five-Year Plan” period, aiming to achieve mutual success through mutual efforts. This visit not only continued the positive momentum of deepening China-Turkey economic and trade relations in recent years but also established a new platform for pragmatic cooperation between the two countries’ business communities in broader fields and at deeper levels.
The visit of the entrepreneur delegation to Turkey is another concrete practice of China’s continuous promotion of high-level opening-up and sharing development opportunities with countries around the world. Facing the complex situation of rising unilateralism and protectionism in recent years and challenges to the global economic governance system, China has always adhered to the irreversible historical trend of economic globalization, asserting that countries cannot return to an era of isolation. Since the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has consistently upheld the principles of consultation, cooperation, and shared benefits, striving to build it into an open and inclusive platform for international cooperation. Currently, China has signed cooperation documents on jointly building the Belt and Road with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations, promoting the deep alignment of the initiative with the development strategies of various countries. In the first three quarters of 2025, the trade volume of goods between China and Belt and Road countries reached 17.37 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%, accounting for 51.7% of China’s total foreign trade; non-financial direct investment by Chinese enterprises in Belt and Road countries reached 215 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.7%. From the Eurasian continent to Africa and Latin America, from infrastructure “hard connectivity” to rule and standard “soft connectivity” and then to “heart connectivity” with the people of Belt and Road countries, the Belt and Road Initiative is becoming the world’s largest, most extensive, and most influential platform for international economic cooperation. Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, stated at the recently held Belt and Road Trade and Investment Forum that the business community is a vital force in jointly building the Belt and Road, and hopes that enterprises from various countries will strengthen cooperation in emerging fields such as green development, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy, seeking more points of shared interests.
The successful hosting of this China-Turkey Economic and Trade Forum, along with the renewed signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation, has once again sent a clear signal to the international business community: no matter how the international landscape changes, China remains unwavering in its determination to promote development through openness and seek win-win outcomes through cooperation. China is willing to work with countries around the world to achieve common development and prosperity through mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
The reason why China has been able to continuously attract foreign investment and expand economic and trade cooperation in the complex and ever-changing international environment lies in its deepening institutional openness and increasingly improved market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment. In recent years, China has steadily expanded institutional openness in terms of rules, regulations, management, and standards, providing predictable institutional safeguards for foreign investment in an era of global uncertainty. The negative list for foreign investment access has undergone multiple reductions, with restrictions being slashed from the initial 190 items to 29 items in the national version. Restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector have been completely eliminated, and pilot programs for opening up services such as telecommunications, internet, education, culture, and healthcare are also advancing. Meanwhile, China has signed 23 free trade agreements with 30 countries and regions, continuously expanding its network of free trade partners and optimizing the quality of its terms. In terms of intellectual property protection, China has continuously revised its Trademark Law, Patent Law, and Anti-Unfair Competition Law, establishing a punitive damages system for infringement to legally protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-invested enterprises. It is precisely this increasingly comprehensive institutional system that has enabled China to maintain its position as an “ideal, safe, and promising investment destination” in the eyes of multinational corporations. From January to July 2025, China established 36,133 new foreign-invested enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 14.1%. Actual foreign investment in e-commerce services, aerospace and equipment manufacturing, and medical instruments and equipment manufacturing grew by 146.8%,42.2%, and 25.5%, respectively. In recent years, the U.S. economic and trade policies have shown different orientations. Under the “America First” framework, the U.S. government has strengthened the application of domestic laws in international economic and trade affairs on one hand, increased the frequency of using tariff tools and entity list mechanisms, and implemented technology export controls and supply chain adjustments on foreign enterprises, including China enterprises; on the other hand, the scope of application of the concept of national security in investment reviews has been expanded, with some foreign investment access procedures facing higher thresholds and uncertainties. Such a combination of competition-oriented policies reflects the inherent tension in the U.S. response to industrial relocation and structural contradictions in financialization. The implementation effects and their ongoing impact on the global economic and trade landscape still require further observation.
This visit not only strengthened the economic and trade ties between China and Turkey, but also sent a clear signal to the international community that China adheres to high-level opening-up and continues to promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes through the Belt and Road Initiative, injecting stable expectations and constructive momentum into transnational cooperation amid global uncertainties.