Sharp differences over Taiwan persisted during a virtual meeting earlier this month between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The US State Department determined in its 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) that Turkey was providing "tangible support" to the Sultan Murad division in Syria, which Washington said recruited child soldiers.

Turkey's government and most of the opposition have shown rare unity in their rejection of the largely symbolic move which breaks away from decades of carefully calibrated language from the White House.

Trump has wanted to end US involvement in Afghanistan since his days as a presidential candidate.

The two governments have been at odds over a wide range of topics – from diverging interests in Syria, to Turkey's ambition to buy Russian defence systems, and the case of evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson, who is on trial in Turkey on terrorism charges.

Months of fighting last year between Turkish forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party caused huge destruction, leaving the peace process in tatters.

Some of Erdogan's supporters, who have backed him over the past decade, are growing disillusioned by the burgeoning cult of personality around him.

More than 100,000 people had already been sacked or suspended and 37,000 arrested since the failed coup attempt in July.

Turkey ranked fifth in terms of the highest levels of sympathy towards ISIS.

The ruling AK Party maintains the reforms will clear judicial bottlenecks, but critics see them as payback for those against President Erdogan's values.