On 16 December 2025, İstanbul Kent University, in collaboration with CGTN Türk, hosted a workshop entitled ‘Türkiye-China Relations Forum: Intercultural Dialogue – Shaping the Future of China and Türkiye. The workshop was moderated by Assit. Prof. Dr Mesut Özel, Director of Kent USAM, the workshop featured presentations by Wei Xiaodong, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in İstanbul; Prof. Dr Hasret Çomak, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at İstanbul Kent University and academics from İstanbul Kent University, Prof. Dr Ahu Tuğba Karabulut Assoc. Prof. Dr Doğan Şafak Polat and Lecturer Mehmet Yavuz Kankavi. Prof. Huisheng Shou from Beijing Language and Culture University also delivered a presentation by connecting to the workshop online. CGTN Türk Editor-in-Chief Ulaş Can, CGTN Türk Managing Editor Filiz Atıcı, and CGTN Türk Reporter Aslı Ağırdil also participated in the workshop.

The workshop provided a comprehensive academic and diplomatic platform for discussing the relations between Türkiye and China in their historical, political, economic and cultural dimensions. It aimed to evaluate the relations between the two countries not only within the framework of bilateral diplomacy, but also through the perspective of transformations in the global system, multipolarity, development models and dialogue between civilisations.

Delivering the opening speech of the forum, Prof. Dr. Hasret Çomak, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at İstanbul Kent University, touched upon the historical development of diplomatic relations between Türkiye –China, highlighting the mutual potential in the fields of economy, education, culture and logistics at the current level, and emphasised that universities are important actors in this process in terms of knowledge production and public diplomacy.

Following, His Excellency Wei Xiaodong, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in İstanbul, stated in his speech that dialogue between civilisations is one of the cornerstones of Türkiye-China relations. He expressed that Chinese diplomacy is based on mutual respect, equality and the principles of ‘win-win’; he emphasised that China's development model prioritises cooperation over conflict.

After Xiaodong, Prof. Huisheng Shou from Beijing Language and Culture University drew attention to the strategic importance of Türkiye-China relations in the context of increasing uncertainties, geopolitical tensions and economic transformations in the global system. Following, Assoc. Prof.Dr Doğan Şafak Polat underscored the significant overlap between China and Türkiye’s development goals in his speech, while Prof. Dr Ahu Tuğba Karabulut presented current data on the state of the Turkish economy and trade relations with China, emphasising the need for Türkiye to achieve a more effective position in the Chinese market. Finally, Lecturer Mehmet Yavuz Kankavi drew attention to the similarities between the modernisation processes and state traditions of the two countries, stating that the historical context is important for correctly interpreting current political and economic relations.

The workshop, which aimed to establish a strong foundation for future joint projects by highlighting the need to deepen Türkiye-China relations not only at the state level but also at the academic and social levels, was successfully concluded following a question-and-answer session.

The news on the CGTN Türk website can be accessed from this link.