By Bosphorus News Türkiye Desk
China has announced an agreement with Türkiye to deepen law-enforcement and security cooperation, drawing criticism from a Washington-based Uyghur independence organisation over the possible consequences for the large Uyghur community living in Türkiye.
No new security treaty, extradition arrangement or operational mechanism was announced after the talks.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Miao Deyu and Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci held political consultations on July 16, according to China's Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese account said the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation between their law-enforcement and security institutions. It also said Türkiye reaffirmed its commitment to the One China policy and would not allow its territory to be used for activities harming China's sovereignty, security or territorial integrity.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry identifies Ekinci as a serving deputy foreign minister, a post she has held since May 2024. The ministry had not published an equally detailed account of the July 16 consultations at the time of writing.
The absence of a matching Turkish readout leaves the planned scope of the security cooperation unclear. Neither government has announced a new extradition procedure, intelligence-sharing mechanism or joint operation connected to the talks.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile, a Washington-based organisation campaigning for Uyghur independence from China, condemned the consultations and accused Ankara of enabling Chinese pressure against Uyghurs abroad.
The organisation called on Türkiye to end security, intelligence and law-enforcement cooperation with Beijing. It described the latest consultations as part of a longer shift in Turkish policy as economic and diplomatic relations with China have expanded.
Its claims that Türkiye is directly complicit in genocide and acting as an instrument of Chinese transnational repression have not been supported by evidence tied specifically to the July 16 meeting.
The response carries wider political weight because Türkiye has historically hosted one of the world's largest Uyghur communities and previously presented itself as a prominent defender of their cultural and religious rights.
That sense of security has weakened among some Uyghurs in recent years.
Human Rights Watch reported in November 2025 that Turkish authorities were increasingly placing security restriction codes on Uyghurs seeking residence, citizenship or international protection. The organisation said such codes could lead to the loss of legal status, detention in removal centres and deportation proceedings.
Its investigation documented cases in which Uyghurs were accused of security links without being shown the evidence against them. Human Rights Watch also warned that deportation to third countries could expose some individuals to eventual transfer to China.
The report did not establish that Türkiye was systematically returning Uyghurs directly to China. It said the legal uncertainty and use of confidential security assessments had increased fears within the community as relations between Ankara and Beijing improved.
Türkiye and China signed an extradition treaty in 2017. China ratified it in 2020, but the agreement has not entered into force in Türkiye and no current Turkish ratification record has been published.
The July consultations therefore do not create a new extradition route on their own.
China describes policies in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region as measures against terrorism, separatism and religious extremism. United Nations experts and international rights organisations have documented mass detention, surveillance, restrictions on religion and family separation in the region.
A 2022 assessment by the United Nations human rights office said the scale of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups may constitute crimes against humanity. China rejected the findings.
The latest dispute now turns on what Türkiye and China mean by deeper security cooperation. Beijing has placed the commitment on the public record, while Ankara has not explained which institutions, activities or categories of information it covers.
Without those details, the consultations cannot be described as a new security pact. They do, however, add to existing concerns among Uyghur groups that closer Türkiye-China relations could affect their legal status and political activity inside Türkiye.
Sources: China's Foreign Ministry, Türkiye's Foreign Ministry, East Turkistan Government in Exile, Human Rights Watch, United Nations human rights material, Bosphorus News review and reporting.