Strategic rail corridors, growing tourism and strengthening partnerships reshaping regional connectivity and cooperation

The synergy between the China proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Turkish Middle Corridor plan is making significant progress, with China-Europe freight trains through Turkiye now operating regularly.

In early August, two trains that departed from Chongqing and Chengdu, respectively, transited through Istanbul and headed toward Lodz, Poland, and Budapest, Hungary.

Due to factors such as customs clearance efficiency and Caspian Sea weather, the journey of China-Europe freight trains from China to Turkiye via the Middle Corridor would often take more than 20 days.

Thanks to concerted efforts, freight efficiency along the Middle Corridor has steadily improved in recent years.

Enver Iskurt, Turkiye’s deputy minister of transport and infrastructure, said at a departure ceremony held on Aug 4 in Istanbul that the travel time for China-Europe freight trains via the Middle Corridor from China to Turkiye has been reduced to 15 days.

This not only strengthens Turkiye’s role as a hub in the international railway transport network but highlights the strategic advantages brought to his country by the BRI, Iskurt said.

The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor Initiative, starts from China and passes through Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and Georgia, with extensions to Turkiye and European countries.

This corridor significantly reduces the land and sea transportation time between China and Europe. Deepening connectivity. Since the signing of a connectivity memorandum of understanding between China and Turkiye in 2015, trade, transportation infrastructure and connectivity between the two countries have rapidly deepened.

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Data from the Chinese customs show that the bilateral trade volume reached approximately $42.89 billion in 2024, enabling China to become a major trading partner of Turkiye.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said at the Global Transport Connectivity Forum that the synergy between Turkiye’s Middle Corridor plan and the high-quality development of the BRI are key to safer and more efficient connection between Asia and Europe.

The forum was held in Istanbul in late June, where participants discussed topics such as more efficient integration of global transport networks, infrastructure investment, and strengthening multilateral cooperation.

To promote the alignment of the BRI with the Middle Corridor initiative, China State Railway Group and Turkish logistics company Pasifik Eurasia signed an agreement earlier this year for joint operation of scheduled trains. In the first phase, they plan to operate 10 pilot trains, with the goal of gradually expanding to 1,000 trains per year.

China-proposed measures, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, have been helping the world break down barriers that have historically led to misunderstandings and conflicts, Akkan Suver, head of the Istanbul-based Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation, told Xinhua News Agency recently.

By promoting people-to-people ties, these initiatives encourage dialogue across languages, religions, and cultures, helping societies “get to know each other”, which “matters the most”, Suver said. Noting the importance of this kind of mutual understanding in resolving conflicts and building lasting peace, he said open dialogue and cultural diversity are paving the way for cooperation that transcends politics and economics.

Chinese Ambassador to Turkiye Jiang Xuebin told Anadolu Agency, Turkiye’s official news agency, that the two countries are maintaining positive momentum in their relationship, with a continuous expansion in exchanges and significant progress in practical cooperation across various fields.

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China will continue to encourage and support Chinese companies to boost investments in Turkiye, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and assist Turkiye in achieving green development and climb up the global value chain. Flourishing tourism, Jiang also emphasized that tourism cooperation is becoming a highlight of China-Turkiye relations.

The two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation and have made significant progress in areas such as tourism facilitation, increases in flight routes, online promotional platforms and cultural performances.

In May 2025, China and Turkiye signed a new memorandum of understanding on air services, increasing the bilateral passenger flight capacity from 21 to 49 flights per week, marking the first significant expansion in 15 years.

Data from Turkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism show that the country received some 409,000 tourist visits from China in 2024 — an increase of 65.1 percent year-onyear, making China the fastest-growing source of international tourists.

Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Turkish minister of culture and tourism, told Xinhua that China is a highly valued and strategically cultivated market for Turkiye, which has been making continuous efforts to attract more Chinese tourists.

Turkiye aims to enhance services for Chinese visitors, with the goal of attracting 1 million tourists from China by 2025, according to the minister.

Turkish cultural and tourism authorities, considering Chinese tourists’ preference for planning trips through online platforms, are placing importance on localized promotional activities and maintain accounts on Chinese social media platforms such as Douyin, Weibo and Xiaohongshu, Ersoy said.

He said that Turkiye is dedicated to integrating its cultural and tourism resources, focusing on promoting Turkish cuisine, beach holidays, and health and wellness tourism products to Chinese tourists.

The Turkish tourism authorities announced plans to launch Silk Road-themed travel routes, covering classic destinations such as Cappadocia, Istanbul and Pamukkale.

Nighttime museum visits and authentic culinary routes are becoming new attractions for Chinese tourists.

With its diverse and rich tourism products, Turkiye’s appeal is steadily growing in the Chinese market, he said. Tourism is an important link connecting the peoples of both countries.

In recent years, Turkiye has conducted various cultural exchange activities with institutions like Confucius Institutes in Turkiye, fostering cultural exchanges and facilitating practical cooperation in other fields between the two countries.

Currently, Turkiye has more than 20 sites on the World Heritage List. Ersoy noted that these historical sites, reflecting their rich historical heritage, will offer Chinese tourists a unique and unforgettable cultural experience.

He said his team looks forward to welcoming more Chinese friends to Turkiye to personally experience its rich culture and hospitality.