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Sino File | Erdogan abandoned the Uygurs to court China. Will he do same to the US?
- The Turkish leader once described Beijing’s treatment of the Muslim community as ‘genocide’ – now he calls it ‘deradicalisation’
- How far is he willing to go in seeking Beijing’s favour?
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In today’s diplomatic world, characterised as it is by the rivalry of a US-led West and a China-Russia axis, one alliance’s gain is often the other’s loss.
Turkey’s shift in its foreign policy focus regarding the world’s two main rival alliances is a case in point. Just as Ankara looks to boost ties with Beijing and Moscow, its relations with Washington and the rest of the West are plumbing the depths.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to China last week, which saw his eighth meeting since 2013 with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, was an effort to build on budding economic and political ties at a time when both Beijing and Ankara are in the bad books of the United States.
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Ankara has become increasingly estranged from Washington and its Western allies over differences on Syria, its planned purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile system and democratic backsliding following a failed coup attempt in June 2016. Meanwhile, with Washington and Beijing engaged in a tariff war that appears to be part of an escalating rivalry on anything and everything, US President Donald Trump’s sanctions on Iran have cast a shadow on the economies of China and Turkey, both of whom are importers of Tehran’s oil.
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Erdogan’s visit to Beijing followed his talks with Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan late last month. Those talks failed to resolve disputes that may yet lead to even more painful US sanctions for Ankara.
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