What challenges will China and Turkey face in the synergy of the two plans?
We are certain about the importance of both projects and are eager to revive the ancient Silk Road. Furthermore, there is the highest level of political will on both sides to achieve our common goals. I sincerely believe that as long as we are willing to cooperate and to coordinate efforts regarding the alignment of our projects, we will continue to make progress. The involvement and support of other countries will help to further deepen the positive impact of these projects.
As there is no competition, but complementarity among our projects, I don’t see a reason for it not being successful.
The first China-Turkey cross-border e-commerce platform Tr.dhgate.com was launched in 2016. What is your comment on the Silk Road online?
Our trade increased gradually from $238 million in 1990 to $27.7 billion in 2016. We are aware of the great potential in our trade relations. Therefore, it is essential to find and use new and modern ways to improve the bilateral trade and economic relations. To this end, e-commerce is an important means that reaches out to large segments of populations.
As I mentioned before, Turkey and China have signed a cooperation agreement in the field of e-commerce, a sector which is gaining more importance every day. This was China’s first cross-border e-trade agreement signed with another country.
The website Tr.dhgate.com already covers a large variety of goods. It is a good business-to-business (B2B) platform. It connects mainly the small and medium-sized businesses between the two countries. In our opinion, this is just the beginning of the B2B online trade process and further steps in connection with e-commerce between the two countries will follow accordingly. The “Electronic Silk Road” is becoming reality.
Source: Beijing Review