ISTANBUL - State Minister Kursad Tuzmen and Chinese Minister of Commerce Lu Fuyuan signed on Tuesday several agreements after the 62-member Chinese trade delegation had talks with Turkish companies.
Delivering a speech at the signing ceremony, Tuzmen said that they signed several agreements which would provide an additional increase in Turkey's exports to China worth of 200 million U.S. dollars for 2003.
Stating that the foreign trade volume between Turkey and China has a 1 billion U.S. dollars imbalance against Turkey, Tuzmen said that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and he tried to make groups of customers organized for signing agreements with Turkey during their visit to China.
He said that Chinese trade delegation and Turkish officials provided an environment where Turkish exporters and Chinese customers came together during the delegation's three-day visit to the country.
Tuzmen noted that 30 million U.S. dollars part of agreements which were signed between the two countries would increase Turkey's exports to China and stated that a letter of intent worth of nearly 150 million U.S. dollars was also exchanged between the two sides.
Stating that only 300 million U.S. dollars part of 1.6 billion U.S. dollars of trade volume between the two countries last year covered Turkey's exports to China, he said that Turkey's exports to China would amount to 500-600 million U.S. dollars and Turkey's imports from China would be 1 billion 500 million U.S. dollars.
Tuzmen said China currently has one billion U.S. dollars trade surplus, adding that the difference between the two countries exports decreased as the trade volume between the two countries increased.
Tuzmen said, ''we see that China will record very high export figures at an atmosphere when particularly World Trade Organization lifts quotas after 2005. As Turkey sold more than 17,000 kinds of goods to 200 countries, we believe that we may sell more goods to China. This year Turkey's exports to China and China's exports to Turkey increased by 70 percent. I believe that Turkish-Chinese relations will improve and that both of them will be countries having an important place in world trade after 2005.''
Chinese Trade Minister Lu Fuyuan said this was the first visit held in ministerial level, stating that Chinese government wanted to improve trade relations with Turkey.
Lu Fuyuan said Turkish government strongly supported agreement between the Chinese companies and Turkish companies.
Recalling that they launched initiatives at the beginning of the year to improve foreign trade between the two countries, Lu Fuyuan said trade improved as a result of reciprocal efforts.
Lu Fuyuan said his government was intended to overcome trade deficit between the two countries, stating that they wanted to sign official agreements.
The guest minister pointed out that agreements signed between the two countries would increase trade.
TURKISH-CHINESE BUSINESS COUNCIL HOSTS LUNCHEON IN HONOR OF CHINESE COMMERCE MINISTER LU FUYUAN
Turkish-Chinese Business Council under the body of Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) hosted on Tuesday a luncheon in honor of Chinese Minister of Commerce Lu Fuyuan.
State Minister Kursad Tuzmen, officials from the Chinese Commerce Ministry, DEIK executive board member Nihat Gokyigit and Turkish-Chinese Business Council chairman Yavuz Onay attended the luncheon at Istanbul's Crown Plaza Hotel.
Onay told the A.A correspondent that revaluation of Chinese yuan came onto the agenda at the luncheon and quoted Chinese participants as saying that there would not be such a revaluation in 2003 and 2004.
Onay stated that imbalance in China's implementation of different taxation on marble that it imported from Turkey was discussed at the luncheon and added that Lu Fuyuan would have several meetings in Ankara on Wednesday.
(EÖ-AY-AÖ) 26.08.2003