Xi meets Turkmen president

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met here with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov on Tuesday.

Berdimuhamedov is in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025, as well as commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Stressing that China and Turkmenistan are good partners who trust each other, Xi said China supports Turkmenistan in pursuing the policy of permanent neutrality and safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Both sides need to expand the scale of cooperation in natural gas, continuously promote cooperation in non-resource fields, enhance connectivity, accelerate the Luban Workshop program, and establish cultural centers in each other's country, Xi said.

The two countries need to closely coordinate and cooperate within the SCO and the China-Central Asia mechanism to promote bilateral cooperation to achieve more results, Xi said.

China and Turkmenistan must firmly defend the outcomes of the victory in World War II and jointly safeguard world peace, he added.

Berdimuhamedov said Turkmenistan and China enjoy profound mutual trust and cooperate in a wide range of sectors, which has brought benefits to the two peoples.

He added that as Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road and China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative complement each other, Turkmenistan is willing to enhance cooperation with China in sectors such as energy, infrastructure development, education, and culture.

He noted that the SCO has great potential with solid progress in cooperation in trade, investment, security and people-to-people exchanges, making positive contributions to a more just and balanced world landscape. Turkmenistan will actively participate in relevant cooperation, he added.

Berdimuhamedov also said that Turkmenistan fully supports China's vision of a community with a shared future for humanity and the Global Governance Initiative, and is willing to work with China in advancing their implementations.

The two sides signed multiple bilateral cooperation documents in areas such as intellectual property rights, media and education.