China and Turkmenistan marked a major advance in their cooperation in the natural gas sector on April 17 when Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, in his capacity of special representative of President Xi Jinping, attended the ceremony to break ground on work to expand production at the giant Galkynysh gas field, in the fourth of seven planned development phases, together with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Turkmenistan holds the world’s fourth largest gas reserves and nearly all its exports go to China. Galkynysh, which is located in the Karakum desert about 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of the capital Ashgabat, has been producing gas since 2013 and is the world’s second-largest gas field. The expansion work is being carried out by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) together with local partner Türkmengaz. Both are state owned companies.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ding, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the smooth commencement of the fourth phase of the Galkynysh gas field will further elevate energy cooperation between China and Turkmenistan to a new level.
He added that under the strategic guidance of the two countries’ top leaders, China-Turkmenistan natural gas cooperation has yielded fruitful results, strongly supporting the economic and social development of both countries and benefiting their people.
And he advanced a three-point proposal:
Both sides should prioritise quality and build the project into a premium one by promoting craftsmanship and advancing construction to high standards, thus striving to deliver a first-class project that can stand the test of time.
Both sides should pursue innovation-driven development and make the project a benchmark by promoting innovations in project management, technology and cooperation models, so as to provide experience and demonstration for major natural gas projects.
Both sides should adhere to win-win cooperation and make the project a symbol of friendship by strengthening technical exchanges and personnel training, ensuring that the outcomes of cooperation better benefit the two peoples and contribute to China-Turkmenistan friendship.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a symposium marking the 20th anniversary of strategic cooperation between China and Turkmenistan in the natural gas sector held in the capital Ashgabat the previous day, Ding said that natural gas cooperation has served as a cornerstone of China-Turkmenistan relations. Under the strategic guidance of the two countries’ leaders, China and Turkmenistan have always stayed true to their original aspirations, taking strategic mutual trust as the fundamental premise, traditional friendship as the solid foundation, mutual benefit as the key driving force, and a long-term perspective as an important safeguard.
He again put forward three proposals:
Consolidate the foundation of traditional energy cooperation, place greater emphasis on viewing China-Turkmenistan natural gas cooperation from a strategic height and with long-term interests in mind, fully implement the existing cooperation consensus, and steadily advance the construction of more new major projects.
Expand new areas of energy cooperation, follow the trend of green and low-carbon energy transition, promote the parallel development of cooperation in traditional energy and green energy, and create an all-round pattern of energy cooperation.
Work together to safeguard global energy security, ensure the stability and smooth flow of energy production and supply chains, promote the stable operation of energy markets, and build a more fair, just, balanced and inclusive global energy governance system.
The previous day Ding had a meeting with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Ding 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.
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.
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. 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.
The next day Ding met with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
He first conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings and best wishes and said that Xi met twice with Berdimuhamedov last year, charting a new blueprint for the development of bilateral relations. China-Turkmenistan relations are rooted in a history of friendly exchanges spanning over 2,000 years, and mutual support is the core essence of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. China will always support Turkmenistan in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as in pursuing a policy of permanent neutrality, and will remain a trustworthy partner for Turkmenistan.
Berdimuhamedov said Turkmenistan highly commends the four global initiatives proposed by Xi and will firmly support China in hosting the third China-Central Asia Summit next year.
As noted above, National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov had paid a goodwill visit to China the previous month.
Meeting with President Xi Jinping on March 18, the Chinese leader noted that China’s annual “two sessions” were successfully concluded not long ago, during which the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development was reviewed and approved. The implementation of this Plan will lay a solid foundation for China to basically achieve socialist modernisation and will also benefit countries around the world. Over the past 35 years since gaining independence, Turkmenistan has blazed a trail of independent development that suits its national conditions. China will work with Turkmenistan to discuss plans for cooperation and share development opportunities as we enter the Year of the Horse, so as to further deepen and substantiate the China-Turkmenistan community with a shared future. [The horse, especially the Akhal-Teke breed, holds a special place in Turkmen culture.]
Xi Jinping underscored that mutual support is the core of the China-Turkmenistan comprehensive strategic partnership. No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China will always support Turkmenistan in upholding its national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, always support Turkmenistan in pursuing a policy of permanent neutrality, and always remain Turkmenistan’s trustworthy cooperation partner. The two sides should work faster to create greater synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Turkmenistan’s Revival of the Great Silk Road Strategy, expand cooperation in natural gas, enhance the scale of trade and investment, and deepen collaboration in connectivity, agriculture, artificial intelligence, digital economy, clean energy and other non-resource areas.
Berdimuhamedov expressed his great pleasure at visiting the great country of China, and congratulated China on the successful conclusion of the “two sessions,” during which important decisions and plans were made for the country’s development. China’s prosperity and development benefit the world. When everything is good in China, the world is better. Turkmenistan appreciates China’s support for its status of permanent neutrality, speaks highly of the four global initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping as a world-class leader, and commends China’s consistent position of upholding justice in international affairs. Turkmenistan will strengthen coordination and collaboration with China within multilateral frameworks such as the UN and the China-Central Asia mechanism to jointly safeguard peace and stability of the region and beyond.
It should be noted that, whilst such major projects as the Galkynysh extension are agreed and initiated far in advance, and cannot simply be seen as a response to immediate events, the coincidence of timing and the high level accorded to the ceremony cannot be separated from wider geopolitical events, with the US aggression against both Venezuela and Iran having as one of its objectives to threaten and constrain the security of China’s energy supplies. China’s long-standing energy cooperation with Turkmenistan, and its quantitive and qualitative uplift, therefore has great significance beyond just a bilateral economic relationship and testifies to the strategic farsightedness of China’s approach to energy security and related issues.
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency and on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
https://socialistchina.org/2026/04/23/china-boosts-natural-gas-partnership-with-turkmenistan/