ANKARA -- China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO), China's largest shipping group, has been strengthening its foothold in Turkey since entering the market in 1996.

COSCO, which owns and controls over 800 modern merchant vessels with an annual carrying capacity of 400 million tons, offers container liner services in major Turkish ports, including Istanbul, Izmir and Mersin, and provides ship agency for bulk cargo carriers at all Turkish ports.

With a 13 percent share in Turkey's container transportation market, COSCO has become an important player in the shipping market of Turkey.

Zhang Zhiliang, former Chinese consul-general in Istanbul and new Chinese Ambassador to Qatar, said the COSCO Turkey office has acted according to the Turkish law, respected working partners in Istanbul and brought their advantages into full play.

The office has set a good example for the cooperation between Chinese and Turkish companies, he said.

Erdal Tokcan, vice chairman and general manager of Turkey's Marti Container Services S.A., once said that there has been good synergy between COSCO and the Marti Container Services S.A., which has a good understanding of the local market.

The COSCO staff always listen to the advices of their partners before they making a decision or judgment and act in a fair and reasonable way, he said, noting that COSCO's success in Turkey was based on the Chinese culture, etiquette and ethics shown in its interaction with the Turkish side.

"I hope we can foster closer cooperation with COSCO in future," he said.