We are open to cooperation in different geographies

Emphasizing that Türkiye and China can cooperate in different geographies, Bayraktar said, "This can be Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Balkans. We are also open to cooperation around here," he said. Bayraktar pointed out that there are important opportunities in Türkiye in terms of energy storage and batteries, and said that Chinese companies are considering production in Türkiye.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar gave an interview to CGTN Türk, which is affiliated with Chinese state television. Answering the questions of CGTN Turkish Editor-in-Chief Ulaş Can, Minister Bayraktar made statements about the energy cooperation between Türkiye and China.

High Level Contact in China

Bayraktar reminded that the cooperation opportunities between Türkiye and China were on the agenda in the meetings held on the occasion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit held in the past weeks. Reminding that he met with companies as well as Wang Hongzhi, President of the National Energy Administration in China, and Zheng Shanjie, Head of the National Development and Reform Commission, Bayraktar said, "There is a lot of cooperation in energy."

Interest in the Oversea Wind Project

Pointing out that concrete projects came to the agenda with China, Minister Bayraktar stated that they have the ability to produce very large-scale projects in the field of energy and said, "One of the concrete projects we talked about is the offshore wind project. So, the project we call 'wind over the sea'. It will be a first in Türkiye and maybe we will hopefully do it with Chinese companies," he said.

Power Transmission Lines

Stating that they plan to build new energy transmission lines, especially at the point of transporting electricity to Europe, Bayraktar said, "We announced a program of approximately 30 billion dollars for 2035 and there is a very serious interest in this. It is also very compatible with China's Belt and Road initiative.” He evaluated.

Companies Are Considering Production In Türkiye

Pointing out that there are important opportunities in Türkiye in terms of energy storage and batteries, Bayraktar said, "Chinese companies are considering production in Türkiye."

Huge Energy Park

Stating that nuclear energy may be one of the most important areas of cooperation, Bayraktar said, "We have a long-term negotiation process on this issue. Within the scope of the visit, I specifically expressed to Zheng Shanjie, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission; We had a proposal to return the nuclear power plant project, which we plan to establish in Thrace, to a worldwide carbon-free energy and data center. In other words, we are talking about a huge energy and data park with renewable energy; sun, wind, storage, data center and nuclear power plant. This attracted a lot of attention. I think this is a project suitable for the common interest of both countries," he said.

Cooperation Opportunities

Minister Bayraktar said, "We can cooperate on nuclear energy, renewable energy, energy transmission and mines. We are discussing projects related to bringing the reserves found by Türkiye in rare earth elements to the economy. Our cooperation in the field of oil and natural gas continues." said.

Different Geographies

Minister Bayraktar also said that Türkiye and China can cooperate in different geographies. Bayraktar said, "This could be Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Balkans. We are also open to cooperation around here. We think there are important opportunities around here," he said.

We Are A Country That Hosts Opportunities

Stating that Türkiye is a very important market and a growing economy, Bayraktar said: "It may be possible to turn Türkiye into a second production base and move to different geographies very easily through Türkiye by using Türkiye's logistical advantages, especially in a world where there are trade wars, sanctions or some obstacles. We are a country that includes such opportunities. In this sense, we evaluate renewable projects and other projects in a way that will make our cooperation more permanent and long-term. In other words, we say 'come and manufacture solar panels in Türkiye', 'Manufacture wind turbines here'. As Türkiye, our infrastructure is ready for this.”