Interview: Turkish traders to further tap business opportunities in China

ISTANBUL, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Turkish traders seek to boost cooperation with China by expanding their business in the Chinese market with new projects in the future, an industry insider said.

"I hope our association could achieve significant breakthroughs in our cooperation with China," Jak Eskinazi, the head coordinator of the Aegean Exporters' Association, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The coordinator is particularly hopeful about the future of bilateral trade with Chinese companies in the post-pandemic era.

According to Eskinazi, Turkish businesspeople have been focusing on expanding the market shares of products such as Turkish natural stones in China.

Around 60 Turkish companies attended the natural stone fair at the 23rd China Xiamen International Stone Fair in Fujian Province in early June, said Eskinazi.

The association also organizes seminars and webinars for Turkish companies, providing information such as storage and sales methods on doing business in China, he noted.

"We also have media adverts and accounts on food and natural stone on China's social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo," Eskinazi said.

According to Eskinazi, the association also plans to organize a trade forum in Türkiye for Chinese businesspeople in the near future.

The Turkish businessman expressed his optimism about the two countries' tourism cooperation.

"China is a big country, and the income level in China is increasing day by day. Chinese people's desire to travel is growing, and our country is also attractive to them. If we can develop our infrastructure and present and promote our natural beauties, we hope our Chinese friends will prefer our country and spend their holidays here," he said.

Aegean Exporters' Association has 7,500 member companies operating in 12 main sectors across Türkiye. The affiliated companies had exported 18.3 billion U.S. dollars' worth of products to around 210 countries and regions by the end of 2022.