Turkey has acknowledged an ebb in ties with China over Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur minority, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s record suggests he will try to avoid any move that could damage relations.   

At home, Erdogan faces protests by the Uyghur diaspora over allegations that Uyghurs who are wanted by Beijing are being handed over to China. The Turkish president is also under pressure from the opposition to take a firmer defense of the Muslim minority inhabiting China’s Xinjiang region. The Uyghurs' Turkic origin resonates strongly with Turkey’s nationalist quarters, including the base of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the de facto coalition partner of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). The issue is often brought up in parliament by the Good Party in a bid to corner the government and the MHP, with which it shares nationalist grassroots.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu blamed Beijing last week for "slowing down" any progress in the bilateral relations,  Anatolia news agency reported. A recent UN report has documented China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang, and Turkey “cannot but react” to such breaches, he stressed. 

President Xi Jinping proposed five years ago that a Turkish delegation visit Uyghurs camps in Xinjiang to see the situation on the ground, but the Chinese authorities have since insisted that such visit could take place only on their terms. “Why would we be a tool of Chinese propaganda?” Cavusoglu asked. Also, he said, Turkey will not extradite any Uyghurs who have acquired Turkish citizenship, dismissing reports of extraditions as “an absolute lie.”