Türkiye chases $10bn China exports as 15 firms head to import expo

Exports from Türkiye to China rose 41 per cent in January–September 2026, climbing from $2.1 billion to $3 billion, according to Muhammet Öztürk, coordinator chairman of the Aegean Exporters' Associations (EİB). The medium-term objective is to lift shipments to China to $10 billion. Öztürk gave the figures while announcing that the EİB will handle Türkiye's national participation at the China International Import Expo for a ninth time, with 15 companies active in food, cosmetics, textiles and services.

Öztürk's argument is that China should be treated as a continent rather than as a single market, citing its weight in world trade as both a seller and a buyer. On that reading, the scale of Chinese import demand leaves space for Turkish suppliers of industrial goods as well as for agricultural and food exporters, he said.

Some 300 million consumers in China have purchasing power comparable to that of European shoppers, according to Öztürk. He identified the country's Generation Z as the group Turkish manufacturers should pursue, suggesting that personalised and niche lines work better there than broad, mass-market ranges. Buying habits have shifted, he added: consumers who once prioritised saving now put more spending into quality and health-related products, travel and unfamiliar cuisines and lifestyles.

The composition of the delegation follows that logic. Textiles sit among the four sectors represented at the import fair, alongside food, cosmetics and services, with the exporters' body coordinating the group under the national pavilion. The EİB has organised the Turkish national stand at the fair on eight earlier occasions.

The China effort comes as Turkish exporters search for demand outside their usual European base. The statement did not name the participating companies, describe their product ranges or report any commercial agreements concluded at the fair.

For Turkish textile and clothing producers, the pavilion is a state-coordinated route into a market whose buyers sit well outside the apparel sourcing channels they normally serve.