On August 30, 2009, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with Turkish Prime Minister's Special Representative and State Minister Zafer Caglayan in Beijing.

Yang said that the visit to China paid by Zafer Caglayan as special representative of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated the political will of the Turkish government to continue developing ties with China, adding China attached importance to promoting the ties with Turkey. The visit to China paid by Turkish President Abdullah Gul not long ago had achieved important and positive outcomes, he noted. Yang said China always held that safeguarding the overall development of the bilateral relations could serve the fundamental interests of the two peoples. China was ready to develop the bilateral relations on the basis of universally recognized norms of international relations, he said.

Yang also said that the July 5 riot in Urumqi was neither an ethnic problem nor a religious issue, but an incident plotted and organized by the "East Turkestan" separatist forces both inside and outside China. It had a profound political background. Yang said the "East Turkestan" separatist forces' nature and harm was disclosed in the riot as it seriously jeopardized the lives, property of the Chinese people of various ethnic groups, and the local stability. The measures taken by the Chinese government to deal with the incident according to law won wholehearted support of the local people of all ethnic groups, Yang said.

Both China and Turkey were faced with common tasks of safeguarding national unification and territorial integrity. The two countries enjoyed long-standing coordination in security fields including anti-terrorism, Yang said. China would work with Turkey to boost the cooperation in this regard, so as to better carry out the common task of safeguarding national unification and territorial integrity and opposing separatism, he said.

Caglayan said the two peoples had a long history of friendship, and Turkey attached great importance to developing ties with China. The success of Turkish President Abdullah Gul's visit to China in June had exerted profound influence on the bilateral relations. The two countries had conducted "sound cooperation" in areas such as fighting terrorism, Caglayan said, adding Turkey would like to stay in close contact with China in this area. Caglayan reiterated Turkey's adherence to the one-China policy and its respect for China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Turkey will endeavor to develop a strong relationship with China, through deepening bilateral cooperation," he said.