Turkey, at the crossroads of the “new silk roads”
Published on :09/08/2023 - 1:10 p.m.
Listen - 19:30
ShareAdd to queue
Fifth episode of our series “new silk roads, ten years later”. Turkey occupies a central place, between Europe and the Orient. China has understood this well by investing massively in this country. A partnership that is often advantageous to him. But Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have reshuffled the cards.
The “New Silk Roads” are at a crucial moment in Turkey. © Baptiste Condominas/RFI
ADVERTISEMENT
You have to cross the Bosphorus, a strait that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, to get from one side of Istanbul to the other. Turkey's largest city straddles the European and Asian continents. On the European side, in the historic district of Sultanahmet, Chinese tourists have reappeared after Covid. They visit Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. Losing yourself in its streets lined with colorful shops, you will find ancestral traces of the Chinese presence.
Adnan's antiques shop, 40 years in the business, contains more than one treasure including two old Chinese porcelain vases, blue and white. “
They date from the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century,” says the seller, “
and were used to transport zamzam water, the sacred water from Mecca to Saudi Arabia. The Chinese produced a lot of white and blue ceramics from the 15th century onwards for the Topkapi Palace, where the world's largest and most luxurious collection of white and blue porcelain dating from the Ming period can still be found today. ,assures Adnan. Chinese porcelain for the sultan who lived in the Topkapi Palace, at the time when Istanbul was still called Constantinople. To transport these treasures, it was necessary to take the land silk routes before they were gradually supplanted by sea routes.
Adnan, antiques seller, at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. © Murielle Paradon/RFI
The port of Kumport, near Istanbul, bought by the Chinese
Today, China still sends part of its products by sea to Turkey, an obligatory passage between the East and the West. And to ensure its outlets, it even had the luxury of purchasing the third goods port in Turkey: Kumport, an hour from Istanbul. The Chinese shipowner Cosco acquired it in 2015, buying 65% of the shares. Since then, the port has been operating at full capacity, or even beyond capacity, according to Hakan Yakupoglü, customs manager for the maritime freight company Narin. “
Almost all Chinese companies use the port of Kumport, 80 to 90% of boats arrive here ,” he explains, in front of an incessant ballet of trucks transporting containers. “
This creates overactivity which can slow down the arrival and dispatch of containers, with delays of 2 or 3 days sometimes .
Chinese goods arrive in Turkey by boat, at this port bought by the Chinese, but not only that. As part of the “new Silk Roads” launched 10 years ago by President Xi Jinping, China has invested in railways, highways and bridges. “
Beijing wants to take advantage of Turkey's central position to expand into the Eastern Mediterranean ,” summarizes Tolga Bilener, China specialist at the international relations department at Galatasaray University in Istanbul,
and reach a Turkish market worth 85 million people. consumers ”.Trade has surged from $10 billion in 2010 to $45 billion today, the researcher said, making China Turkey's third-largest trading partner, but with a clear advantage for Chinese companies that export many more products than they import.
Kumport, bought by the Chinese shipowner Cosco, near Istanbul. © Murielle Paradon/RFI
China, Turkey's third trading partner
To see this, just go to the Beauty Eurasia show, which took place in mid-June near Istanbul. Chinese exhibitors have come in force and they are selling everything: cosmetic packaging, false nails, and laser equipment. These multifunctional machines which remove hair, reduce cellulite and remove tattoos, are made in China, explains Rock Duan, sales director of Perfect laser, at his stand: “In China, we have
factories that manufacture all the components for this type of machines, engineers who have 10 to 20 years of know-how, and lower manufacturing costs, these are advantages . ”The company is looking for distributors in Türkiye, a market with a large population. The country also occupies a central place “
close to the Middle East and Europe, right in the middle!” “, he specifies.
Sohar, who works at the head of Nikarich system, a distributor of this type of machine in Turkey, is very interested in Chinese products: “
We use a lot of Chinese products in Turkey, because unfortunately the equipment that comes from Europe or from America are too expensive for the Turkish market. Before I worked a lot with Russian companies, but in terms of customs it is simpler between Turkey and China, to send our payments to China too . Easier procedures, lower prices, the advantages are numerous but, according to Sohar “
we must also recognize that products made in China are not necessarily of good quality, we choose them because they are cheaper ”
.