Yılmaz attended the "Türkiye-China Green Development Business Forum" held in Istanbul in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce, Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) and China International Trade Development Council.
Stating that the high-level political dialogue between Turkey and China has paved the way for placing economic relations on a more balanced, sustainable and production-oriented basis, Yılmaz said that the strategy and main framework put forward by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chinese President Xi Jinping are guiding for everyone.
Hoping that today's meeting will contribute to the development of economic and commercial relations between the countries, the establishment of new partnerships and the increase of mutual investments, Yılmaz said, "Today, we are celebrating the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and the People's Republic of China. At the point we have reached today, Turkey and China have developed an increasingly wider network of interaction and cooperation since our relations were upgraded to the level of strategic cooperation in 2010. The will demonstrated by our heads of state creates a strong basis for further deepening our bilateral relations in every possible field." he said.
Cevdet Yılmaz noted that, as Turkey, they attach importance to developing relations with China on the basis of mutual respect, trust and common interests, and emphasized that with this understanding, they wish for economic relations as well as political dialogue to progress in a more balanced, sustainable way that will contribute to the development goals of both countries.
"I can say that Türkiye and China have a common vision."
Stating that the world economy is going through a significant change process, Yılmaz said that there is a period in which energy security and supply chains are being reshaped.
Yılmaz stated that green transformation is not only a concept related to the protection of the environment, but also directly affects the competitiveness of the industry, technological development, investment preferences and the future of international trade.
Emphasizing that Turkey has put digital and green transformation at the center of all policies in its development plans, Yılmaz said, "Turkey is determined to take advantage of the opportunities offered by this transformation with its strong industrial infrastructure, dynamic private sector, qualified human resources and strategic location. In this sense, I can say that Turkey and China have a common vision. As two energy-importing countries, achieving green transformation is extremely valuable and valuable not only in terms of achieving environmental targets, but also in terms of our macroeconomic stability. In this direction, Turkey carries out green transformation efforts in line with the 2053 net zero emission targets." continues." he said.
Recalling that COP31 was hosted, Yılmaz noted that he can easily state that Türkiye is also a leader in climate diplomacy.
Wishing that COP31 will be a meeting that strengthens international cooperation in this fight and provides concrete progress in the fields of finance and technology, Yılmaz said, "The whole world needs a joint effort. However, these responsibilities need to be distributed within the framework of equity. Financial support and technology transfer, especially to developing countries, are very important for the global green transformation process. I would like to express that we expect results in this direction from this meeting." he said.
"Our goal is to further increase Türkiye's trade with China"
Yılmaz stated that China has an important position in the world economy, industrial production, renewable energy technologies and new generation production areas, especially electric vehicles.
Stating that Türkiye offers important opportunities for international investors with its advanced production capacity, access to European and surrounding markets, logistics infrastructure and strong entrepreneurship ecosystem, he continued as follows:
"We believe that these complementary opportunities can be transformed into new and mutually beneficial partnerships between our countries. We want to advance our cooperation, especially in the fields of renewable energy, energy storage systems, electric vehicles and battery technologies, smart production, environmental technologies and sustainable infrastructure. We welcome Chinese companies to increase their investments in Türkiye. These investments will also have an increasing effect on trade between us. The trade volume between Turkey and China reached approximately 53 billion dollars in 2025, and Türkiye's largest foreign trade partner was China. However, our exports have a rather unbalanced structure. "I have to say that our imports were 49.6 billion dollars and our exports were only 3.3 billion dollars. Although there is an increase of nearly 49 percent in our exports in 2026, our exports are still at very limited levels. There is no disagreement in this situation, there is a structural issue that requires a joint effort. We believe that we will make this joint effort as two countries. Our aim is to further increase Türkiye's trade with China and bring it to a more balanced structure."
In this context, Yılmaz pointed out that it is extremely important to market higher value-added products to China, and on the other hand, he emphasized that it is important to move forward relations not only in goods trade but also in the field of tourism.
Cevdet Yılmaz pointed out the importance of bringing together the opportunities of China and Türkiye in the field of finance and said:
"On the other hand, of course, the increase in direct investments of Chinese companies in our country is important. We believe that with all these, we can develop a more economically balanced form of relationship. Green development offers a very important cooperation opportunity in the implementation of this approach. We believe that the cooperation in this strategic field will contribute to the economic relations and transformation of the industries of the two countries. The development of our economic relations will play a decisive role with the direct and continuous contacts to be established between our companies, as well as large-scale investments. It is important for our business people to travel more easily, for our companies to access markets and develop partnerships." "carries."
Reminding that Turkey has abolished visas for China, Yılmaz said that he thinks that increasing the convenience for the business world to travel to China and increasing the number of flights by THY will be beneficial both in the field of tourism and in the interaction of the business world.
"We see that Türkiye offers very serious opportunities"
Noting that one of the important areas of cooperation between Türkiye and China is transportation and connectivity, Yılmaz said:
"Connectivity has become one of the most critical concepts in today's world. What we are experiencing due to the Ukraine-Russia war is obvious. In this context, we see that Türkiye offers very serious opportunities. First, of course, the development of the middle corridor and its harmonization with China's belt and road initiative is extremely important. As a matter of fact, our new and key projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway and Marmaray, as well as the 120 kilometer railway line that will pass through the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, enable Türkiye's East and West "The Development Road Project, which will pass through Iraq, also offers an important route not only for our region, but also for global trade. In addition, the route from Türkiye to Syria, Jordan and from there to Saudi Arabia is also on our agenda as a project in an important position in the supply systems of world trade. Therefore, I would like to express that we, as China and Turkey, have significant potential for cooperation on these issues."
Yılmaz explained that the ties strengthened by the Historical Silk Road over the centuries can today turn into a strong economic partnership between Türkiye and China that will expand production, investment and common prosperity.
Cevdet Yılmaz said that his expectations from the forum were that the discussions would turn into concrete investment decisions, new business partnerships and long-term projects.
Thanking Chinese Vice President Han Cıng and his delegation for participating in the forum, Yılmaz said, "I would like to express my gratitude to all our institutions and representatives of our business world, especially the Foreign Economic Relations Board and the China International Trade Development Council, who contributed to the organization of the forum. I hope that the forum will contribute to the further development of economic and commercial cooperation between Turkey and China." he said.
In addition to Chinese Vice President Han Cıng, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat and DEİK President Nail Olpak also made speeches at the forum.
