On the afternoon of October 15, Yu Jianhua, China International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce, and Begench Gochmollayev, Deputy Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan, co-chaired the 7th meeting of China-Turkmenistan Sub-Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation via video. The two sides exchanged views on implementing the consensus of the leaders of the two countries and deepening mutually beneficial commercial cooperation. The Chinese delegation consists representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China International Development Cooperation Agency, Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, Export-Import Bank of China, China Development Bank, China Railway, relevant local governments and Chinese Embassy in Turkey. Representatives from the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Railway Transport of Turkmenistan, Ministry of Industry and Communications, State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs, “Turkmenhimiya” State Concern, Union of Industrialists Entrepreneurs and Turkish Embassy in China attended the meeting on behalf of the Turkmen side.

Yu noted that President Xi Jinping and President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov reached important common understandings at a telephone conversation last May on further strengthening Sino-Turkmen cooperation in natural gas and expanding cooperation in non-resource areas, which injected a strong impetus into and charted the course for the strategic partnership between the two countries. Since the 6th meeting of the Sub-Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation, China and Turkmenistan have promoted bilateral trade steadily, expanded cooperation on natural gas, advanced key projects in an orderly manner and achieved good results on transit transport cooperation.

Yu said that China-Turkmenistan trade and economic cooperation enjoys enormous potential and broad prospects. The two sides should continue to expand trade, ensure long-term and stable supply of natural gas, and strengthen cooperation across the whole industrial chain. In the meantime, trade in pharmaceuticals, agricultural products, machinery and electronic products should be promoted. The two sides should accelerate the negotiation and signing of the expanded economic partnership plan to provide guidance for cooperation in non-resource areas, and promote exchanges and cooperation between localities, enterprises and financial institutions of the two countries. The two sides should make an early decision on launching a number of priority projects to strengthen digital and green empowerment, with a view to implementing them as soon as possible and achieving early harvest.

Gochmollayev said the Turkmen side attaches great importance to economic and trade cooperation with China and is willing to implement the consensus of the heads of state and work together to foster new forms and new areas of practical cooperation between the two countries. Turkmenistan will continue to expand exports to China, deepen connectivity and strengthen cooperation against Covid-19. Turkmenistan looks forward to more direct investment from Chinese enterprises and closer cooperation on financial and private sectors between the two sides and will work together with China to deliver more outcomes of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

The two sides signed the minutes after the meeting.

(All information published on this website is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only.)