Zhu Guangyao (3rd R), the commercial counsellor with the Chinese embassy in Turkey, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the fifth edition of China Homelife Turkey trade show in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 31, 2018. The fifth edition of China Homelife Turkey trade show kicked off in Istanbul on Thursday, bringing some 400 Chinese producers face to face with potential traders and buyers from Turkey and other countries. (Xinhua/He Canling)

ISTANBUL, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The fifth edition of China Homelife Turkey trade show kicked off in Istanbul on Thursday, bringing some 400 Chinese producers face to face with potential traders and buyers from Turkey and other countries.

According to the organizer, the fair covers an area of 14,000 square meters at the Istanbul Expo Center with nearly 700 booths, a rise of 30 percent over the previous trade show.

The trade show, a three-day event, is dedicated to textiles and garments, food, lighting, household, furniture, home appliances, power and electricity, building materials, auto and motor parts, hardware and tools as well as machinery.

As an important move to develop the emerging markets along the routes of China's Belt and Road Initiative and optimize the layout of the international market, China Homelife Turkey has grown to be an influential trade show in Turkey, Zhu Guangyao, the commercial counsellor with the Chinese embassy in Turkey, said at the opening ceremony.

Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. It comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

As the organizer of the Istanbul trade show, the Meorient International Exhibition Co Ltd of China has extended invitations to some 2,500 traders and buyers from countries like Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Syria and Iraq with a view to boosting on-site trading volume.

Bilateral trade between Turkey and China hit 26.35 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, with China being Turkey's 15th largest export market and largest source of imports, according to Turkish figures.

"The fair is very important in terms of consolidating this relationship and developing trade between the two countries," said Sevket Uyar from the Chamber of Commerce in the Turkish province of Kayseri.

"It is also an important platform for those who want to get a benefit from the potential of the Far East," he said at the opening ceremony.

Emir Arslanbay, manager of the Roro Logistic Area in Istanbul, spoke of the progress made by Chinese industries over the past years, as he and others are "looking for some specific industrial products" made in China.

"Many Turkish traders, from all segments, are now visiting the fair," he said. "Their number has also increased considerably."

Mehmet Bilgin, head of Ege Sedef Chandelier who comes from Turkey's western province of Izmir, was looking for some auxiliary equipment.

"We have been doing business with China for quite a long time," he said. "We always visit our partners there, but this fair provides some more for us. We can get in direct contact with them in our own country."

China Homelife is organized annually in 13 countries across the world, namely Turkey, Poland, Mexico, Egypt, Brazil, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, India, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Kenya and Nigeria.