China, Turkmenistan eye closer links

China stands ready to fully unleash the potential of cooperation with Turkmenistan on the basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation, President Xi Jinping said during his meeting with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

The two countries enjoy strong political mutual trust and have a strong will to cooperate with each other, Xi said.

China hopes to deepen and expand its cooperation with Turkmenistan, and work with the Central Asian country to build a China-Turkmenistan community with a shared future, he said.

Xi called on the two countries to do a good job in aligning the Belt and Road Initiative with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, expand bilateral cooperation in natural gas, and explore more cooperation outside the area of resources.

He said that both countries should improve the structure of bilateral trade, improve regional connectivity and hold more people-to-people exchange activities. Xi also called on both countries to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement, security and defense, jointly combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, and enhance cooperation in cybersecurity.

China supports Turkmenistan in joining the World Trade Organization and organizing the fifth meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighboring countries, and is pleased to see Turkmenistan playing a greater constructive role in international affairs as a permanently neutral country, Xi said.

He said China hopes to strengthen coordination with Turkmenistan in international and regional affairs to jointly uphold the multilateral trade system and the common interests of the Global South.

Berdimuhamedov said Turkmenistan hopes to fully widen its cooperation with China.

The country hopes to expand natural gas exports to China, deepen bilateral cooperation in machinery manufacturing and the textile industry, strengthen connectivity, promote people-to-people exchanges and conduct closer cooperation with China in law enforcement and security, he said.

Turkmenistan also hopes to strengthen coordination with China on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, he added.

After their meeting, Xi and Berdimuhamedov witnessed the two countries' joint announcement on signing an intergovernmental agreement on economic and technological cooperation.