Senior officials of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, including the regional Party chief Ma Xingrui and Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the regional government, meet with the visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his delegation in Urumqi, Xinjiang on June 5, 2024. Photo: Xinjiang Daily

Senior officials of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, including the regional Party chief Ma Xingrui and Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the regional government, met with the visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his delegation in Urumqi on Wednesday, Xinjiang Daily reported.

During the meeting, Ma welcomed Fidan's visit to Xinjiang and said that under the strategic guidance of leaders of the two countries, friendly exchanges and practical cooperation in various fields between China and Turkey have made positive progress. And thanks to the development of China-Turkey bilateral relations, exchanges between China's Xinjiang region and areas in Turkey have become increasingly close.

The Xinjiang region has vigorously promoted the construction of Chinese modernization, while achieving high-quality economic and social development. All ethnic groups are deeply integrated and united like pomegranate seeds, said Ma.

Terrorism is the enemy of humanity and has previously harmed social stability and people's safety in the Xinjiang region, said Ma, noting that "we are willing to deepen cooperation with Turkey to jointly combat separatism, terrorism, and extremism."

As the core area of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Xinjiang region is steadfastly expanding its openness, building a golden passageway between Asia and Europe, and becoming a bridgehead for opening up to the West, so it holds great potential for cooperation with Turkey, said Ma.

"We hope both China and Turkey will thoroughly implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen practical cooperation in various fields, improve the quality and level of trade, and contribute to the sustained, healthy, and stable development of China-Turkey bilateral relations," Ma said.

Fidan said that Turkey and China both have deep and long histories, and cooperation in key areas between the two countries is actively progressing. He expressed hope that his visit will further advance the development of the strategic cooperative relationship between the two countries.

Fidan noted that during his visit to China's Xinjiang region, he observed well-developed urban facilities, social prosperity, and good protection of various ethnic cultures and languages.

Turkey's stance on Xinjiang-related issues is clear and firm. It resolutely opposes terrorism, does not support or participate in anti-China activities using ethnic issues, and does not allow activities in Turkey that harm China's security or undermine China's territorial integrity, said Fidan.

The Xinjiang region is a window for China to cooperate with Central Asia and countries such as Turkey. Both sides should work together to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation, expand exchanges and interactions, and promote new progress in cooperation in areas such as trade, agriculture, and civil aviation, said Fidan.

Fidan is visiting China from Monday to Wednesday. On Tuesday, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met Fidan in Beijing. On the same day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, held talks with Fidan in Beijing.