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КИТАЙСКО-ТУРЕЦКИЕ ОТНОШЕНИЯ: СОВРЕМЕННЫЙ ЭТАП
The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of today's relations between China and Turkey, that are about to mark the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this August. In this article, in detail and with the involvement of sources in Chinese and Turkish, as well as in Russian and English, the following aspects of the current interaction of the two countries are characterized: political relations, bilateral trade, investment policy and specific areas of investment from China, military cooperation (including some issues of competition in this area). Special attention is been paid to the changes in the official position of Turkey on the Uyghur issue, which for a long time has been the main source of tension in relations between Beijing and Ankara. Anticipating benefits of cooperation with Beijing in the form of investments and loans that could contribute to a “less painful” (in terms of Turkey's ambitions) solution to the economic problems existing in the country, the Turkish leadership has softened its rhetoric regarding the aforementioned problem. However, as it turned out, in an attempt to control the stance on the issue, Turkish official authorities, among other things, find themselves under pressure from within the country. Attention is also paid to the similarities and differences in the interests of the two parties in the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and other regions. An attempt is made to determine probable content of cooperation between Turkey and China in the Middle East in the context of the growing interest of China in its presence in the region, especially during the reconstruction period after the end of the conflict in Syria. The article concludes that, despite the strengthening of Turkey's anti-Western rhetoric after the attempted military coup in 2016 and the “pivot to the East” declared by the Turkish leadership, China at the moment as well as in the near future cannot replace for Turkey the West as the main strategic partner. However, the bilateral cooperation allows Turkey to diversify economic ties in order to sustain its own development and to pursue a relatively independent and self-substantive policy in the international arena.