Eurasia Press & News
China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed concerns about Turkey’s decision to co-produce a missile defense system with a Chinese firm, saying on Tuesday that the United States and others were needlessly politicising a purely commercial deal.
Both the United States and NATOhave expressed worry about the $3.4 billion deal, saying the system would not be compatible with those of Turkey’s other allies.
Some NATO diplomats have also said integrating a Chinese system into NATO’s defenses would raise cyber-security concerns and issues about NATO swapping technical data with a Chinese firm.
But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said there was nothing to worry about, especially as China had very strict rules on arms exports to ensure no impact on regional or global peace and stability.
“The cooperation between the Chinese firm and Turkey is normal military cooperation between the two countries,” she told a daily news briefing in Beijing.
“We hope that all relevant parties can objectively and rationally view this cooperation, and should not politicise normal commercial competition.”
Turkey has said it is likely to sign the deal, though its decision is not yet final.
