Turkey launches heaviest air strikes yet on Kurdish group

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Drones, helicopter gunships and commando units have been despatched to the scene”,

it said, adding that one “terrorist” had been killed in the clashes.

Erdogan called for closer cooperation against xenophobia, discrimination and Islamophobia. Before he left for Beijing, Erdogan said Turkey wants to speed up the two nations’ cooperation on a number of key projects.

Wu Sike, a former special Chinese envoy to the Middle East, said the links between the Uygurs and Turkish Muslims should serve as a bond of friendship, instead of being “leverage” exploited by some forces for their own ends.

US officials have told Turkey that a missile defence system from China couldn’t be integrated with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation systems.

Turkish nationalist groups, which see a kinship with other Turkic peoples in Central Asia, attacked Asian tourists in Istanbul’s old city, protested against Chinese workers at a thermal energy plant and ransacked the Thai consulate after reports that Thailand was deporting Uighurs back to China.

Around 350 Uighur held at detention centers in Thailand have been at the center of a diplomatic tug-of-war between the two countries, with China identifying them as from occupied East Turkestan, while Turkey welcomed them as its own.

Tayyip Erdogan had earlier visited Lahore and Islamabad in December 2013 as the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey.

It was Turkish President’s first visit to the country since assuming the office of President.

According to sources, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has weakened after failing to secure a majority in Turkey’s recent general elections.

In his remarks at the China-Turkey Economic and Trade on Thursday, president Xi said China and Turkey sit at the starting and ending points of the ancient Silk Road, and have made important contributions to the inter-civilization exchanges.

Prime minister Davutoglu later warned that Turkish nationals should be careful about reacting to such provocative incidents, saying that his government will protect the safety and security of foreign tourists, and is not going to tolerate such attacks.

China and Turkey have pledged to strengthen cooperation in trade and counterterrorism and keep bilateral ties “on the right track”, despite concerns over illegal Uygur migrants travelling from Xinjiang to Turkey. Erdogan says Turkey is an important crossroad across Eurasia, and geographically a major hub in the Silk Road Economic Belt.

“As the world’s third largest investor, the Chinese government will continue to encourage more Chinese companies to invest in Turkey. I believe this visit will give more momentum to bilateral relations”, Mr Erdogan said.

The Chinese leader also said Beijing is willing to boost law enforcement and security cooperation with Turkey.