By Tevfik Durul

BEIJING

Chinese Foreign Ministry has highlighted Turkey’s importance in the Eurasia region and its status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

"Turkey is an important country in Eurasia and important dialogue partner for the SCO," spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing Monday.

China will evaluate Turkey's demand to strengthen cooperation within the SCO if other member countries also agree, the spokeswoman added.

Established in 2001, the organization aims to strengthen friendly good neighbor relations and mutual trust among member states.

The SCO is dominated by Russia and China. The other full members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Turkey will chair the Energy Club of the SCO in 2017.

Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated Ankara was considering joining trade blocs besides the EU, especially the SCO.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told Russia’s Interfax news agency on Dec. 7, 2016, that Turkey was a "dialogue partner" of the SCO.

"But it is loud and clear that enhancing relations with the SCO is not an alternative to our membership in other unions," said Yildirim.

Turkey has associated with the SCO since five years. It applied for “dialogue partnership” in SCO in 2011 and its status was approved in June 2012 at the SCO Heads of State Summit in Beijing.