Visiting Premier Wen Jiabao and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed on Friday to explore all potential avenues to boost bilateral trade.

The two leaders met in Ankara, the Turkish capital, to sign eight agreements on infrastructure construction, telecommunications and bilateral trade.

Erdogan said his country is seeking cooperation with China in building up to 5,000 km of railways in the coming years, with China already actively involved in a high-speed railway project linking Ankara with Istanbul.

The Turkish prime minister set ambitious goals in increasing bilateral trade volume to US$50 billion by 2015 and US$100 billion by 2020.

"This is a common target," said Erdogan, who added that concrete measures will be taken by both sides to realize the goals.

Bilateral trade surged from about US$1 billion in 2000 to US$12.6 billion in 2008, although the figure dropped to about US$10 billion in 2009 due to the global recession.

Both sides have now agreed to carry trade in their currencies, Erdogan said.

Facing common tasks of protecting national unification and territorial integrity, the two leaders also pledged to fight the "three evil forces" - terrorism, extremism and separatism.

After the meeting, Wen announced ties between the two countries had been raised to the level of strategic cooperative relationship.

"It's a milestone in the history of our bilateral relations," Wen told reporters during a joint press conference with Erdogan. "It will not only bring substantial benefits to people in our countries but also have profound effects on world peace and development."

Turkey, a member of United Nations Security Council and G20, plays an important role in many international and regional issues, such as Middle East peace process and Iran's nuclear negotiations, the Chinese premier said.

Yin Gang, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China and Turkey share a lot in common and have ample room to cooperate.

"Both countries are climbing the global ladder to become economic powerhouses," he said.

Wen flew to Istanbul on Friday, where he met Turkish President Abdullah Gul and representatives from Turkish business and cultural communities before traveling to Ankara.

Turkey is the last stop on Wen's four-nation tour, which has taken him to Greece, Belgium and Italy. He also made an unscheduled stop in Germany.

"We expect Chinese-Turkish ties to leap forward after Wen visits Turkey," Gong Xiaosheng, China's ambassador to Turkey, told reporters in Istanbul days before the premier's arrival.

"As the two nations work more with each other, there will be a great prospect for cooperation," he said.

China and Turkey have seen frequent visits of high-level officials in recent years, including Turkish President Gul's visit to China in June 2009.

Around 50,000 Chinese tourists visited Turkey in 2008, with the number today exceeding 100,000.

(China Daily October 9, 2010)