A New Eurasian Embrace: Turkey Pivots East While China Marches West

Transatlantic Academy Paper Series, May 2014, 17 p.

Christina Lin *

Turkey, with its increasingly Eurasian geopolitical trajectory, seems to be at a point of choosing whether to remain anchored in the West, or fundamentally shift its axis eastward toward Eurasia. This paper examines the emerging trend that is unfolding in the Eurasia region. It focuses on the growing China-Turkey relationship and places it within the broader context of increasing Eurasian integration via the “New Silk Road.” It highlights drivers for Turkey’s eastward shift away from Europe and toward Eurasia as well as drivers for China’s westward march. It also examines the role of Xinjiang as a platform for Sino-Turkish cooperation across Eurasia and concludes with implications of Sino-Turkish ties for transatlantic security.

* Christina Lin is a fellow at the Transatlantic Academy, an initiative of the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Washington, DC, and a fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University.

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