“Turkey Dream” and the China-Turkish Cooperation under“One Belt and One Road” Initiative

Abstract: Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP)’s coming to power in 2002, Turkey has experienced a decade of high-speed development under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s political group. After outstanding economic and social achievements of the past years, the ruling party of Turkey put forth ambitious visions, plans and objectives, including the centennial political vision of 2023, sexcentenary outlook of 2053 and millenarian objective of 2071, all of which could be summarized as “Turkey dream”. The proposing of “Turkey dream” is both an elaboration of Turkey’s politicians for increasing their popularity among people and a reflection of Turks’ self-confidence after a decade of development. In terms of cooperation under the framework of the “One Belt and One Road” initiative, it is important for China to understand Turkey’s social and economic development strategy. When studying Turkey’s advantages and problems, China needs to pay special attention to Turkey’s soft power in Eurasia. The proceeding of the “One Belt and One Road “initiative in Turkey and even in the Middle East will benefit from exploring the possibility of cooperation on improving both sides’ international influence and on the fight against terrorism.