Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a lot to discuss with his Chinese hosts in Beijing during his two-day official visit which ends on July 30. Relations between the two countries have been strained for quite some time.

Recently, thousands of Turkish people staged a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in Ankara against the treatment of the Muslim Uighur community in China's Xinjiang province. Prior to that, the Turkish media reported that Chinese authorities were not allowing the Uighurs to fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and that they were even forcing them to consume alcohol.

The police used tear gas to disperse the angry protesters, who also attacked Chinese tourists. The situation forced the Chinese embassy in Ankara to send out a travel advisory to its citizens traveling to Turkey.

Solidarity with the 'Uighur brethren'

The Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking ethnic group, live predominantly in China's northwestern Xinjiang region. The province has been volatile for decades, as the Uighurs complain about being culturally, socially and economically suppressed by the majority Han Chinese. The government denies these claims and says the Uighur community enjoys freedom and a good standard of living in Xinjiang. The authorities, at the same time, accuse some Uighur groups of being involved in separatist activities.

The Turkish people feel the Uighurs are culturally and religiously closer to them than China. The country's leaders have repeatedly criticized Beijing's treatment of the Muslim minority. In 2009, Erdogan, who was then prime minister, described the bloody riots in Xinjiang, which left more than 180 people dead, as "a kind of genocide."

After a short tense period between the two countries, relations have improved again, although the Uighur issue continues to cause friction. Since last year, thousands of Uighurs have fled to Turkey. Beijing claims that several hundred Chinese nationals, predominantly Uighurs, have also gone to Syria via Turkey to join the extremist "Islamic State" group. Chinese authorities fear the Uighurs' exposure to jihadist networks in the region could create more unrest in Xinjiang.

Ups and downs

"Relations between the two countries have their ups and downs," Umut Ergunsü, a political scientist at China-based Peking University, told DW. But while the feeling of solidarity with the Uighurs is especially strong amongst nationalist Turks, the debate is largely based on emotions rather than on actual knowledge about the Xinjiang region, Ergunsü explained.

On the other hand, Turkey needs China as an economic partner. China is the second-largest importer into Turkey after Russia, with bilateral trade reaching $28 billion (25 billion euros) in 2014. But the trade volume is tilted in Beijing's favor, with China exporting eight times more to Turkey than vice versa.

China, hence, accounts for a fourth of the total Turkish trade deficit. While imports from China cannot be replaced by the Turkish industry, China can choose whether it buys its products from Turkey or somewhere else, said Ergunsü, adding that "despite the occasional aggressive rhetoric coming from Turkey, the fact of the matter is that Turkey must cooperate with China."

Turkey and the new Silk Road

The analyst explains that China's plans for a new Silk Road will play an important role in future bilateral relations. The Chinese government is seeking to build new ports, railroads and airports along the ancient trade route and Turkey is expected to play a key part in the scheme given its geographic location.

"Turkey will certainly become a distribution hub, enabling not only the distribution of Chinese products across Europe, but also the strengthening of Turkey's ties with Central Asian states," said Ergunsü.