VP Yılmaz urges for more investments from China

ANKARA

Türkiye should attract more investments and tourists from China to address the trade imbalance between the two countries, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has said.

The bilateral trade volume exceeded $50 billion but Turkish industries need to increase their exports to China, Yılmaz said, speaking at the signing ceremony of the giga energy storage facility agreement inked between Turkish and Chinese companies in Ankara on Feb. 21.

The two countries should bolster cooperation regarding this issue, he added.

“Tourism and direct investments should compensate for trade imbalances…We want to see more Chinese tourists; we want to see more direct investments from China,” Yılmaz said.

He noted that China’s annual overseas investments are around $100 billion but Türkiye’s share in Chinese investments in foreign countries is around only 0.2 percent. “We need to increase this [Chinese investment inflows].”

The vice president recalled that Türkiye has attracted more than $260 billion in foreign direct investment since 2003.

Foreign investors keep a close eye on Türkiye because of the opportunities it offers in the field of energy transformation, Yılmaz said.

Türkiye is among the top 10 nations attracting clean energy investments in Europe, and the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2053 paves the way for climate-friendly energy investments, according to the top official.

On Feb. 21, Türkiye's Progresiva and Chinese Harbin Electric International (HEI) signed an agreement to build a 1,000 MWh electricity storage facility and a 250 MW wind farm.

The size of the investments will be $600 million, and $300 million in financing from China will be secured through Harbin, Yılmaz said.