ISTANBUL - Chinese Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Ministry officials and a Chinese trade delegation met with Istanbul Trade Chamber (ISO) member companies on Thursday and they took up bilateral trade opportunities.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Chinese Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Ministry deputy director general Wu Xilin who heads the 19-member Chinese delegation said that they came to Turkey to examine the issue of foreign trade in Turkey.
Xilin said that they are in Istanbul to make cooperation with the Turkish firms and to speak about detailed projects, adding that they foresee to develop cooperation between the two countries.
Xilin said that the Chinese government supports the issue of Chinese firms' making investment in Turkey and making cooperation with other firms, adding that ''the economic cooperation between our countries will develop.''
Xilin said that China can also make investment in Turkey with its policy of opening to the world, adding that Chinese firms which came to Turkey work in fields of railway, cement-construction, chemical petroleum and durable goods.
Foreign Capital Association Secretary General Abdurrahman Arýman said in his part that China is the second country in the world which gets foreign capital the most.
Arýman said that China is one of the countries which make investment through Hong Kong, adding that developing countries started to become attractive for making investment more than developed countries today.
Noting that Turkey is on the 32nd line as value but 123rd as index value among 136 countries, Ariman said that they already knew that Turkey did not attract investment and it dropped down to the lowest value of all times in 2002.
Ariman said that if measures are taken, investment conditions are recovered, economic and political stability is provided and foreign investors start to trust Turkey's future, the country can reach a better condition. He added that the report on foreign investment which they presented to State Minister Masum Turker earlier will also be conveyed to the new minister.
Believing that necessary progress will be made rapidly about the foreign investment, Ariman said that this will be fulfilled easier and faster with one-party rule.
Ariman said that Turkey should not have expectations about drawing foreign investment in the first part of 2003 and added that fulfilling the potential of Turkey can start at least in summer months or in the end of summer and 2003 can be accepted as a missing year at the moment. Ariman said that Turkey can attract a few million dollars of foreign investment in the last 3-5 months of 2002, if a secure atmosphere is provided, but one or two years are necessary for Turkey to reach 25 billion dollars of potential and in five years a total of 100 billion dollars can be drawn easily.