Session 1: What did China learn from the Covid-19 pandemic? Turkey - China Relations after pandemic

About the session

Date: June 2nd, 2021

Time: 09.00 - 09.40 (GMT +3)

The world entered a new phase with the outbreak of Covid-19 in Wuhan city of Hubei/China. With the propagation of Covid-19 cases in different countries, daily life had started to be paralyzed. Curfews all around the world to contain the spread of the virus and the struggle to continue economic life under these restrictions became the new normal of our daily lives. It seems that humanity has been stimulated due to problems and deficiencies caused by the existing order as a response to Covid-19 pandemic. Interdependency of countries in terms of finance and production was felt the most in the pandemic period. Interdependency caused the spread of damage resulting from Covid-19 pandemic at a faster pace and this damaged everyone. How has the tendency of especially European companies to transfer their production activities to Asian countries been affected in the post-pandemic world? Will the companies be able to continue their activities based on the idea of globalization in the long term upon taking short-term measures?

Turkey and China supported one another and intensified their contact since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019 in politics and in the exchange of knowledge, experience, and health materials. Yet it is a fact that Covid-19 pandemic will lead to indispensable losses in the short and long term in various sectors starting from economy and trade. It seems that all world countries will need to be accustomed to these new conditions. The impact of shrinking demand due to the pandemic on finance and energy markets is felt both in Turkey and in China. This is estimated to cause a decline especially in annual oil and natural gas investments. Given the economic relations between Turkey and China, we can aptly say that energy sphere incorporates very serious opportunities. Can we observe an increase in the participation of Chinese companies especially in renewable energy tenders? Will there be an increase in cooperation with related Chinese corporations in smart network projects within the scope of Turkey’s transformation in energy sector? It seems that political cooperation between the two countries and the establishment of mutual trust will be the key to realize all these opportunities. We need to plan not only the present but the future in Turkey-China relations based on joint interests and a win-win approach. 

Moderator

Hakan Güldağ, Chief Editor of Dünya Gazetesi

Speakers

Ercan Karakuş, StarMall Group CFO

Murat Kolbaşı, DEİK Member of Board, Chairman of the Board at Arzum

Zhang Liwen, Mazars-ZSZH Managing Partner, Member of Mazars GCC