China cautiously eyes defence production opportunities with Nato member Turkey
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China’s defence industry is exploring options to set up production in Turkey to expand its international market share, but will weigh the potential risks in its expansion drive, Chinese analysts said.
Chinese defence producers are interested in buying Turkish companies, according to a report by the US-based Defence News early this week, citing an unnamed Turkish government official responsible for organising the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF), which will open in Istanbul next Tuesday.
Seventy-four Chinese defence firms will participate in the four-day event, compared with only five from the US, the official was quoted as saying.
Ozgur Eksi, a defence analyst who leads Turkish media outlet TurDef, told the Defence News that Chinese firms will attend “mainly with a view to buying Turkish companies suitable for their longer-term targets”.
“After acquisitions, [Chinese firms] will bring in their technology, enjoy low production costs in Turkey, produce Nato-standard systems and target Nato system-using markets,” Eksi was quoted as saying, without detailing what types of Chinese technologies would be introduced. “Those will be ‘made-in-Nato’ systems heading for countries using ‘made-in-Nato’ systems.”