Erdogan to discuss a missile defense deal in Beijing

Although Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Beijing Wednesday with 100 business executives, his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping will also hinge on Ankara’s tentative $3.4 bn transaction for the purchase of a Chinese missile defense system. The deal was delayed by intense pressure from fellow NATO allies to buy their products, including the US Raytheon’s Patriots and the French-Italian Eurosam's GIE. But the Chinese system is much cheaper. Most importantly, Erdogan seeks to attract Chinese investment in Turkey to close the trade gap between them.