The news that Turkey and China had organized a joint military exercise at the huge Konya airbase in Turkey's central Anatolian region last month came as a surprise to many. After all, just a year ago, when clashes between Uighur and Han Chinese broke out in China's Xinjiang province in July 2009, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Chinese authorities of mishandling a situation that he compared to "genocide." What explains such a dramatic improvement in relations between Turkey and China? And how should this military exercise be understood in the context of the current shifts taking place in global power politics?

To begin with, it bears noting that for those who follow Turkish politics and Turkey-China relations closely, the development is not surprising at all. Erdogan's remarks last year notwithstanding, ties between the two countries have been deepening since former Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Turkey in April 2000 opened a new chapter in bilateral relations. At that time, the two countries signed several agreements in the field of political, economic, and energy cooperation, and made a joint statement regarding the fight against international terrorism, ethnic separatism, and religious extremism. Since then, Turkey has never officially supported the Uighur separatist movement, which has historically been the main obstacle in Turkey-China relations.

However, the drill's timing, significance and political implications warrant examination.

It comes in the aftermath of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's recent visit to Ankara, during which he and Erdogan signed eight agreements on cooperation. The visit reflects China's commitment to pursuing closer ties in areas like trade, railway construction, infrastructure, communications and cultural exchanges. Trade volume between China and Turkey exceeded $10 billion in 2009, according to official statistics. The two countries agreed to increase their annual trade volume to $50 billion by 2015 and $100 billion by 2020, with sectors such as energy, air transport and tourism providing opportunities for further cooperation.

For Turkey, the military drill reveals the full potential extent of Ankara's multidimensional foreign policy, both geographically, but also in terms of method. Ankara's recent opening to the world has been mostly accomplished through economic and political means, while never raising any doubts about the impact of Ankara's new orientation on its military alliances. Although the joint exercise with China does not directly call into question Turkey's military alliance with NATO, it signals that even in military affairs, if its existing alliances lose their significance, Ankara can and will consider other options.

From a strategic point of view, the drill underlined Turkey's importance in global politics. While the West is increasingly engaged in heated discussions over whether or not it has lost Turkey, the new rising powers are quickly beginning to recognize Turkey's significance. This military exercise, while allowing China to flaunt its military reach, should also be seen as Beijing's recognition of Turkey's rising importance in regional and global affairs.

That explains in part why the U.S. and Israel were unhappy about the exercise. The U.S. also had legitimate security concerns relating to the possible divulgence of technological, operational and other military secrets. According to media reports, Turkey used F-4 fighters in the exercise rather than U.S.-built F-16 fighters after Washington expressed its concerns.

The drill also underlines that China's search for potential strategic partners is not limited to resource-rich but influence-poor countries. As China grows in global stature, it is becoming increasingly interested in playing a rule-maker role in global politics, rather than being just a rule-follower. Turkey has shown its ability to bring different perspectives to the table on persistent regional issues involving Iran, Iraq and the Palestinians, reflecting Ankara's independent foreign-policy thinking since the Justice and Development Party came into office in 2002. As China's ambitions for geopolitical and geo-economic influence in Central Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East have grown, it has come to see Turkey as a potential gateway to those regions.

The interest in developing deeper ties has been mutual. In another signal of China's importance to Turkish foreign policy, Ankara is preparing to declare 2012 the "year of China," making Beijing the centerpiece of Turkey's "new" Asia policy. Ankara has already articulated that new policy through its engagements with Afghanistan and India, and with high-level visits to China, India and other Asian countries, especially since 2008. That engagement is only likely to become more prominent, with possible areas for cooperation including the stability of Afghanistan and Central Asia when NATO troops eventually leave.

The deepening bilateral ties with China reflect Turkey's broader effort to reinvigorate its relations with rising powers on a global scale. Traditionally, Turkey's relations with rising powers such as India, China, Russia, South Africa and Brazil have been limited to developing economic and political bilateral relations. However, Turkey now believes that the time has come to use these bilateral ties to exert more influence in the global arena. The Iranian fuel swap agreement brokered by Turkey and Brazil in May 2010 was one example of this effort. Turkey's relations with China, as well as with Russia, now point toward a coordinated effort to exert influence in Central Asian affairs.

Whether or not the West will continue to ignore Turkey's rising global role and keep it waiting at the gate of the European Union remains unclear. What is evident is that emerging non-Western powers are paying more attention to Turkey, and value closer relations with Ankara. Whether this will result in a fundamental shift in Turkey's allegiance, leading the West to "lose" Turkey is open to debate. However, if the West maintains its current -- sometimes irrational -- approach to Ankara, its worst fears could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.