A CHINESE purchasing mission by 11 companies has agreed to buy US$300 million worth of products from Turkish companies.

The buyers include leading Chinese enterprises such as Sinochem Corporation, China Minmetals Corporation, China Textile Resources Corporation as well as China National Light Industrial Products Import & Export Corp.

According to the contracts and agreements they signed on Friday, the Chinese firms bought chromium, steel, marble, boron, leather, dyes, hazelnut and olive oil.

A seminar on promoting Turkish exports to China was jointly held by Ministry of Commerce of People's Republic of China (MOFCOM), Turkish Exporters Assembly and Turkish Prime Ministry Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade.

Wang Shouwen, director of MOFCOM's Foreign Trade Department, said that recent years have seen steady growth of Turkey's exports to China.

According to Turkish statistics, between 2002 and 2006, the average annual growth rate of Turkey's exports to China hit 30.2 percent, higher than the growth of Turkish exports to other countries.

"Moreover, for the first two months of this year, China's imports from Turkey grew by 67.7 percent, pointing to a very good prospect," Wang said.

"Since 1997, China has organized purchasing missions to Turkey almost every year," he said, noting that China would find new partnerships, new products and new suppliers.

He also said China was serious about tackling Turkey's trade deficit with the mainland.

Wang added that China advocates free and fair trade, and stands for building a harmonious world, expressing that the Chinese government takes all necessary measures to expand imports from Turkey.

"China does not pursue a mercantile trade policy, instead seeking to balance its foreign trade. However, because of international labor division, it is natural to see surplus or deficit in a country's foreign trade," Wang said.

Wang also encouraged Turkish businessmen to visit China to see the market demand there and urged them to take part in Chinese trade fairs.

Meanwhile, he vowed to support the Turkish government, chambers of commerce and enterprises in organizing Turkish national exhibitions or seminars in China to better promote Turkish products.

Trade relations between the two countries have been developing smoothly in recent years. Sino-Turkish trade, which was US$1.2 billion in 2000, reached US$8.1 billion last year.