Everything about shipping from Türkiye to China

Turkey is one of the world’s most important countries in the field of textiles, automobiles, gardening products, home appliances and others. The Turkish market is the fastest growing market in Europe and one of the fastest growing markets in the world.

As a result of this remarkable acceleration in economic growth, it has become natural for Turkey to have trade and economic relations with one of the largest industrial countries in the world (China).

Geographical importance of Turkey

 The railway network connecting Europe and China has begun a new era of expanding relations between countries on the two continents. Transportation and shipping between Europe and Asia has become very necessary, especially during the quarantine when freight trains played an important role in establishing an international transportation system due to the lack of sea and air transportation options.

As this railway is part of the One Belt One Road Initiative,   which Turkey has supported from the beginning, it has made significant progress over the past ten years and will continue to grow.

Turkey has played an important role since ancient times – due to its geographical location – in connecting Europe and Asia, as evidenced by the famous Silk Road and other land trade routes such as the Spice Road, making the country’s location at the intersection of Asia, Europe and the Middle East a regional transportation hub, and has seen significant activity in recent years.

Huge infrastructure projects such as highways, seaports and high-speed railways have also contributed to this connection between Asia and Europe. For example, the new Istanbul Airport, one of the largest airports in the world, has the capacity to accommodate 200 million passengers annually.

In addition to the Sultan Selim Bridge over the Bosphorus, the Eurasia Tunnel, the Marmaray Railway, and the Osman Gazi Bridge over the Sea of ​​Marmara, these roads are considered logistics hubs and transportation infrastructures within the multi-modal transportation network.

Now the government is focusing on high-speed railways in the country, aiming to build an additional 5,500 km of railways and express lines by 2023, so that these railways can transport goods and shipments around the country. In general, Turkey’s transportation plan focuses on building a modern Silk Road with alternative, independent and viable methods.

Chinese investments in Turkey are contributing to some massive construction projects, and more are planned, as Turkey has already begun implementing concrete projects in the fields of transportation, logistics, energy and trade to revive the ancient Silk Road.

These further developments will make Turkey’s geographical advantage even more evident, forming an efficient and safe route from Asia to Europe.

The China-Europe Railway has had its share of benefits during this continuous improvement of its services, as the direct freight train service between Turkey and China began in December 2020, covering a route of about 8,700 km, passing through two continents, two seas and five countries, transporting its cargo from Istanbul to Xi’an in less than two weeks.

As the eastern end of the Silk Road and the capital of China in ancient times, Xi’an was a meeting point for the ancient Turks and Chinese, as well as a destination for social and commercial interactions for many other countries.

Ancient humans realized the importance of having safe and stable transportation routes to promote trade activities, which is why they created a route that enabled them to transport goods between Asia and Europe.

Today, centuries later, they are following their path again, creating a modern Silk Road with opportunities provided by technology and modernization.

China-Turkey Economic Relations

China is Turkey’s most important trading partner for imports, and Turkey is an influential member of the Belt and Road Initiative plans.

In June 2019, the People’s Bank of China transferred $1 billion to Turkey to help the Turkish economy, which means that a lot of cargo is transported from China to Turkey every year.

Transportation and shipping from China to Turkey is through sea freight, air freight, land freight, door to door service, express shipping service.

Shipping methods between Türkiye and China

China does not have a direct border with Turkey, so the shipment will pass through several countries, seas and oceans before reaching its desired destination. 

Air Freight

Air freight service is one of the most important types of transportation, due to its advantages and positives. It is the fastest in delivering goods and saving time, because there are some goods that require great speed in transportation and delivery, such as medicines and medical equipment, and the safest for shipments, as they are not damaged or broken. It is also used for all types and sizes of goods, and because it is the fastest, it is used more to transport materials that may expire quickly, such as meat, vegetables, and others.

Turk Mirsalprovides air freight service from Turkey to China with high efficiency and competitive prices, completely from the first step until the goods reach their desired location.

Land shipping

The oldest type of transportation in human history, from which commercial exchanges began and the most famous global land routes were established, such as the famous Silk Road that connects China to Europe, a road that has Turkey in the middle and is the link between the two continents.

Turk Mirsal  provides a complete land shipping service from Turkey to China, from receiving parcels from customers, packaging and securing the goods through their passage through the countries between Turkey and China until they reach the latter safely.

Sea freight

Sea freight is one of the most important types of transportation, because it is the easiest way to transport very large shipments that are difficult to transport by air. It is also suitable for transporting sensitive materials such as chemicals, and it is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly type of transportation.

Turkey is located on the routes connecting Europe and Asia, making it an important geostrategic land, and is one of the new members of the G20’s key markets. 

Given the importance of maritime shipping between countries that have borders or sea straits, Turkey had the largest share of these routes.

Some sea freight ports in Türkiye for shipping from China

Kimlik Port

Kimlik Port is one of the most famous ports in Turkey, its main activity is ship services, but it is an important export port for the automotive sector in the Marmara region.

Ambarli Port

Ambarli Port Facilities Trading Company is the authority responsible for the largest port in Türkiye.

haydarpasa port

It is the Port of Istanbul, which is a general cargo port and a container terminal, as it is the largest container port in the Marmara region and the third largest port in Turkey, with an annual cargo volume exceeding sixty-six million tons.

Mersin Port

It is the largest port in Turkey, controlled by the Turkish State Railways. The port’s railway infrastructure is one of the best in Turkey.

Containers can be controlled without having to be transferred to another location, and five docks have rail networks through which shipments can be loaded and unloaded directly to and from.

The port’s business is based on bulk cargo, containers and oil terminals.

Products that can be shipped from Türkiye to China

You should check that the products you are sending are not on the prohibited list, although all shipping companies have their own rules but most of the time the same type of goods are prohibited.

Here is a short list of prohibited items :

1. Magnetic goods (speakers, products with strong magnetic fields…)
2. Documents (currencies, prints…)
3. Perishable products (food, plants, and all live animals except properly packaged bees, silkworms, and leeches)
4. Some product categories (drones, e-cigarettes…)
5. Liquid, powder and paste (liquid cosmetics, toothpaste, capsule medicines…)
6. Weapons (hand weapons and ammunition)
7. Dangerous goods (compressed gas products, corrosive materials, toxic gases, flammable and corrosive materials…)
8. Batteries and electronic products with batteries (cell phones, computers…)

As for the materials exchanged between the two countries, the most important were:

• Turkish imports from China: communication and recording equipment, electrical machinery, textile products, industrial machinery and equipment, automatic data processing machinery.

• Turkish exports to China: agricultural fertilizers of various types, mineral materials such as salt and sulfur, precious metals, inorganic chemical products, and prefabricated houses.

Shipping time between China and Turkey

Shipping between China and Turkey may take a long time when you don’t know the right company, or when you don’t want to pay a high price for the express shipping service suggested by major international shipping companies, but it generally takes 1-10 days.

There are some alternatives that are able to provide you with fast shipping from China to Turkey in a timely manner and at reasonable prices, but when weather problems occur, the shipping time can be extended for a few more days, but this is rare, this can also be the case during specific times of the year such as national and official holidays.

With Turk MirsalShipping Company, customers can ensure that shipments between Turkey and China arrive at the desired speed, with comprehensive insurance, and at reasonable and competitive prices.