BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Well developed Turkey-China ties have facilitated the alignment of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Turkey's Middle Corridor project, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday.
Cavusoglu, who is on a visit to China, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.
The Turkish foreign minister said frequent high level visits had played a significant role in boosting bilateral exchanges and strengthing the two countries' strategic cooperative relations.
Against this background, Turkey, as an important country along the ancient Silk Road, stands ready to serve as a bridge linking Europe and China alongside the well-progressed Belt and Road, Cavusoglu said.
When attending the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expressed his country's willingness to integrate the Middle Corridor project into the Belt and Road Initiative.
"Through the Belt and Road, we are actually trying to rebuild the Silk Road all the way from Beijing to London," Cavusoglu said.
The key to the integration is to push ahead with major cooperation projects such as the already launched Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, which has remarkably reduced cargo transportation time between China and Europe, the foreign minister stressed.
He also voiced his hope that the two countries can bring their respective potential into full play through joint efforts to step up economic and trade ties, as well as tourist and cultural interaction.