China, Turkey pledge to advance strategic cooperation

Chinese President Hu Jintao met with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday in Beijing, vowing to advance the bilateral strategic cooperation. Hu said he believed that Erdogan's visit would increase mutual understanding, expand pragmatic cooperation and push forward the development of the China-Turkey strategic cooperative ties. At the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Erdogan arrived in Urumqi, capital city of northwest Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Sunday, kicking off his four-day official visit to China. During his stay in Beijing, Erdogan held talks with Premier Wen and attended a Turkey-China business forum with Vice Premier Wang Qishan. Erdogan also met with China's top legislator Wu Bangguo and Vice President Xi Jinping, respectively, on Tuesday afternoon. According to the schedule, Erdogan will also fly to China's financial hub of Shanghai and deliver a speech at Shanghai International Studies University.'