In 2015, the contract was broken and the arms sales were refused to fly aid planes in 2020, and the aircraft carrier was blocked in 2000. Türkiye's three operations treat China as an "ATM" and a "wisting stone".

Now, this country suddenly turns around, praising win-win cooperation and being close to China. In just a few years, the attitude was completely opposite. Looking back, every item was filled with abacus.

I want to be a match after losing my wife? Türkiye's "returning grass" is a bit cold

On September 1, 2025, Erdogan attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin, with earnest words, claiming that he "will continue to maintain consultations with China" and expressed his desire to establish "more balanced and sustainable economic relations" with China.

This was said to the accompanying reporter on a special plane, open and transparent, without any hiding. He mentioned China more than once, and emphasized the need to accelerate cooperation in various fields such as digital technology, energy, economy and trade, and health.

This is not a short check, because just before his speech, China was Türkiye's largest trading partner in Asia and its second largest trading partner in the world.

From economic cooperation to the "Belt and Road", he said it more positively. Türkiye is a country along the route and is also the initiator of the "middle corridor".

As early as 2015, they proposed a transportation plan to connect Georgia, Azerbaijan, Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan and all the way to China. The goal is to achieve interconnection of railways and highways with China.

The "New Asia Initiative" emphasized by Erdogan sounds familiar. He praised the "Shanghai Spirit" and believed that this is completely in line with Türkiye's idea of ​​strengthening Asian relations. He not only wants to connect with China at the regional economic level, but also tries to get close to China from a strategic standpoint.

But the "contrast" of these words makes people have to look back. Less than ten years ago, the government under his leadership unilaterally tore up its arms sales contract with China.

Five years ago, it was the Turkish Air Force that refused to use Chinese aircraft; earlier, it was Turkey's route to block the prototype of the "Liaoning Ship" in the strait. These three things are clear and solid.

If it is said that there is a "strong desire for cooperation", how should we explain the original approach? This current attitude is not about enthusiasm, but about China's strength today.

The cooperation between China and Turkey has never lacked sincerity. The problem is that Türkiye has given up its promises, rules and morality three times at a critical moment.

From the breaking of the contract in the "Red Flag-9" military purchase case, to the refusal of entering the flight to transporting anti-epidemic materials, to the interception of the Varyag in the Bosphorus, these actions constitute a continuous challenge to Turkey's sincerity towards China.

Now looking back, Erdogan hopes to rebuild "mutual trust", but the word "mutual trust" cannot be filled with just a few words of scenes. It is the result of stacking of historical events, not the sentence structure in the speech of the summit.

The background of this speech is that China's increasingly strategic gravity in the SCO, which is a substantial advancement in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", and China has a practical voice in Eurasia geopolitical cooperation.

Economic cooperation can be discussed and regional China Unicom can be promoted, but the past three accounts cannot be ignored.

The signing and ruining, the Hongqi-9 military purchase incident exposed all trump cards

In September 2013, the Turkish Ministry of Defense launched the first global public tender for a long-range air defense missile system. The United States, Russia, France and Italy all sent top military-industrial enterprises to participate in the war.

The final winner was China Precision Machinery Import and Export Company, relying on the mature performance of the "Hongqi-9" foreign trade model FD-2000. The contract amount reached US$3.4 billion, which was China's largest single military trade order at that time.

This winning result is not only a business, but also a kind of trust. The Hongqi-9 at that time was evaluated as "close to the American patriot" in terms of performance, and was far higher than the US-Russian system in terms of cost-effectiveness.

A year later, the situation began to change. Erdogan suddenly told the media that the negotiations with China were not reached and instead considered cooperation with France's Eurosam.

In a few months, the Minister of Defense also said that he would spend money to purchase the Hongqi-9 "as planned." As a result, the news was rejected in just a few hours: no final decision was made.

Several repetition and inconsistency, finally on November 17, 2015, the Turkish Ministry of Defense issued a formal statement announcing the cancellation of the missile system procurement project signed with China, and stated that it would "use its own resources to research and development."

The background of this incident is that Türkiye is under multiple pressures of the NATO system. The United States strongly opposes its procurement of Chinese air defense systems on the grounds of "system compatibility issues", but the outside world is clear that this is interfering in military autonomy.

But the problem is that Türkiye knew this from the beginning, but chose the Chinese solution. When China invested manpower and material resources to carry out subsequent advancement, they suddenly called for a stop. This is not "adjusting cooperation strategies", it is a complete undermining.

The US$3.4 billion order was invalidated in a flash. It not only failed the contract, but also trust bankruptcy. The event reveals that Türkiye's attitude in geogame is highly uncertain and speculative.

Hongqi-9 military purchase case is not an isolated mistake, but another manifestation of Türkiye's inertial strategy - sign if it is beneficial, change if it is stressed, and withdraw if it is risky.

Therefore, no matter how nice Erdogan said today, the invalid contract in the past is still reminding Chinese companies: partners do not look at the size of the market, but the bottom line of integrity.

Humanitarian routes were blocked, and 36 tons of rescue materials were converted to Moscow

On May 13, 2020, a cargo flight departed from Tianjin, China and flew to Cyprus was refused entry into its airspace by Türkiye.

The aircraft carried 36 tons of anti-epidemic materials, including masks, shoe covers, surgical gowns, protective suits, etc. The destination is Cyprus, and the aircraft is operated by Russian Azur Airlines.

After the plane took off, it was originally scheduled to fly to Larnaca via Turkish airspace. However, as the middle of the voyage approached, Türkiye suddenly notified it to prohibit it from flying. When the pilot received the order, the airplane's oil volume was not enough to fly around, so he had to temporarily turn to Moscow and refuel.

This decision resulted in the delay of the aircraft's arrival at the target site. The flight originally scheduled to arrive at 8 o'clock that night was forced to postpone.

This mission was jointly organized by the Cyprus Ministry of Health and the Embassy in China. It was originally one of China's humanitarian actions to support the international fight against the epidemic. Türkiye's behavior not only interrupts the flight path, but also directly affects the rhythm of the fight against the epidemic.

After the incident, Cyprus's Minister of Transport Carusos publicly stated that Türkiye's behavior was "unreasonable" and announced that it would formally protest through diplomatic channels.

This is the most tense period of the epidemic, and China has provided aid to many countries. This aircraft carries not only cargo, but also hope in the fight against the epidemic.

But at this critical moment, Türkiye blocked airspace for no clear reason, which showed not only diplomatic hostility, but also moral lack.

Just five years later, the same Turkish President Erdogan said he wanted to "expand cooperation in the field of health." This flip doesn't even require comments.

What is missing today's show of kindness to China is the accumulation of sincerity and incident response. There is no response, no apology, no explanation, only the desire for economic cooperation.

References:

China's "Red Flag-9" has been signed and broke the contract and became a "star" weapon. China Youth Daily. 2015-11-29

Give up the red flag-9: Türkiye is just to show goodwill to Russia. Global Network. 2016-11-21

The United States "disrupts" the big list of arms of China and Turkey. China is concerned. 2013

A plane departing from China to transport medical supplies was refused entry into airspace by Türkiye. Observer.com. 2020-05-14

Erdogan: Türkiye is working hard to deepen relations with China and seek to expand cooperation. Xinhuanet. 2025-09-03