China ready to enhance cooperation with Turkmenistan in various fields: vice premier

ASHGABAT, April 16 -- Visiting Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said here on Wednesday that China is willing to work with Turkmenistan to promote bilateral cooperation across various fields, such as natural gas and non-resource areas.

Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Ding first conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes, noting that under the strategic guidance of Xi and Berdimuhamedov, China-Turkmenistan relations have progressed rapidly and steadily, advancing from a friendly and cooperative partnership to a strategic one, and then to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

China is willing to work with the Turkmen side to implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two countries, give full play to the role of the China-Turkmenistan Cooperation Committee, and promote the accelerated development of bilateral cooperation across various fields.

He said that natural gas cooperation is a vivid manifestation of the mutual benefit and win-win nature of China-Turkmenistan relations, which has developed steadily and achieved fruitful results in recent years, bringing tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries.

Ding emphasized that the two sides should adopt a strategic perspective towards natural gas cooperation and keep long-term interests in mind, seize the momentum and make good use of the window of opportunity for cooperation. He further said they should work in the same direction, accelerate the implementation of major projects, expand the scale of natural gas cooperation, and continuously improve the quality and efficiency of energy cooperation.

Meanwhile, the two countries should further enhance cooperation in non-resource areas such as connectivity, economy and trade, as well as investment, and expand cooperation in fields such as photovoltaics, wind power, new energy vehicles, and artificial intelligence, he added.

Ding said that China is willing to continuously strengthen coordination and collaboration with Turkmenistan under the framework of the China-Central Asia mechanism, and supports Turkmenistan, as a permanently neutral country, in playing a greater role on multilateral stages such as the United Nations.

For his part, Berdimuhamedov asked Ding to convey his sincere greetings to Xi, noting that his visit to China last month yielded practical results and left him with warm memories.

Berdimuhamedov said that the Turkmen side firmly adheres to the one-China principle and supports China's territorial integrity and national unity. Noting that Turkmenistan-China cooperation enjoys a solid political foundation, he said the Turkmen side stands ready to work with China to implement the consensus already reached, strengthen strategic alignment, actively expand energy cooperation, and continuously deepen exchanges and cooperation in connectivity, trade and investment, agriculture, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, so as to benefit the peoples of both countries.

He expressed appreciation for China's support for Turkmenistan's policy of permanent neutrality, and willingness to enhance coordination and cooperation with China in international affairs, jointly safeguarding regional prosperity and development as well as world peace and stability.