China, Turkmenistan elevate bilateral ties to 'comprehensive strategic partnership'

By Emre Aytekin

BEIJING (AA) – China and Turkmenistan have decided to elevate their bilateral relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”

The decision was taken during Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov’s talks with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The leaders formulated “a comprehensive plan for the future development of China-Turkmenistan relations and jointly announce the elevation of the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership,” the statement said.

“With similar visions and objectives as well as intertwined interests, the two countries need to jointly pursue the journey toward development and rejuvenation, leverage the complementarity of their respective strengths, and fully tap the potential for cooperation to realize common development,” the statement quoted Xi as saying.

He said the countries sides should support each other on issues concerning their core interests and synergize development strategies at a faster pace.

China and Turkmenistan “should deepen cooperation on law enforcement, security and bio-security, and jointly crack down on the three forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism,” he added.

Xi stressed that the countries “need to expand energy cooperation on a priority basis,” the statement added.

“Natural gas cooperation is the cornerstone of China-Turkmenistan relations, and greater cooperation in this area serves the strategic and long-term interests of both countries,” he said.

After their talks, Xi and Berdimuhamedov “witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in multiple areas, including Belt and Road cooperation, green development, digital economy, health, culture, sports, press and media, and natural gas,” the statement said.