Chinese Ambassador to Ankara Yu Hongyang said that Turkey is a natural partner for the One Belt One Road (OBOR) project and China wants to cooperate comprehensively with Turkey in every field throughout the duration of the project. Speaking at a conference titled, "Chinese-Turkish relations within the perspective of the Belt and Road" on Tuesday in Ankara, Hongyang underlined that bilateral relations between the two countries have gained new momentum in recent years, adding that the increased frequency of bilateral meetings between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping is a good sign of this momentum.

Stressing that President Erdoğan will participate in the OBOR forum that will take place in Beijing, China from May 14-15, the ambassador said that at this summit Turkish and Chinese officials will hold meetings to identify concrete objectives for future cooperation between the two countries. Hongyang also added that apart from meeting at the ministerial level, President Erdoğan and President Xi will also hold a bilateral meeting during the summit.

Hongyang said: "Our countries will continue to deepen their strategic relations that are based on shared respect and mutual benefits. Apart from economic relations, we also look forward to deepening our relations in the sectors of culture, education and tourism," the ambassador said. "We hope to also extend our cooperation to third countries," he added.

The OBOR project is comprised of the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt, the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which operates under the theme of "strengthening international cooperation and co-building the 'Belt and Road' for win-win development." The forum has been designed to pool more of a consensus, identify the direction of further cooperative measures, push forward the implementation of projects and improve the support systems to ensure a successful outcome. Along with President Erdoğan, Turkey's Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, Transport, Maritime and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi are expected to participate in the summit.