China and Turkey yesterday signed eight pacts on cooperation in areas including trade, railway construction, infrastructure, communications and cultural exchanges.

Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Turkey counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan oversaw the signing of the deals.

Erdogan said the two countries aimed to raise bilateral trade to US$50 billion from the current US$17 billion in the next five years.

He said Turkey planned to build 4,500 to 5,000 kilometers of railways and wanted China's cooperation in those projects.

China agreed to provide financial support for the railway projects when conditions were appropriate, the Turkey prime minister said.

He said both countries had agreed to use their own currencies in bilateral trade.

Erdogan said Turkey also intended to build a railway connecting Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, and the Chinese capital, Beijing.

Wen said better cultural communication would also serve to improve China-Turkey ties, saying the two ancient civilizations should have more dialogue and exchanges.