Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, July 6 / Trend H. Hasanov /
Chinese President Xi Jinping plans "to open up broader prospects of interstate cooperation for the benefit of the two countries" during his upcoming state visit to Turkmenistan.
"Thank you for the invitation to visit Turkmenistan on a state visit," Chinese leader said in his letter to the president of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Beijing attaches great importance to Sino-Turkmen relations.
"I'm looking forward to our next meeting in Ashgabat to jointly plan and further promote the comprehensive cooperation between China and Turkmenistan, and thus open up broader prospects of interstate cooperation for the benefit of the two countries and their peoples," Jinping said.
At present, China ranks first in the total foreign trade turnover of Turkmenistan, and the range of export and import goods continues to expand.
China has become a long-term partner of Turkmenistan in the oil and gas sector and is the largest creditor to the country's energy sector. The Turkmenistan-China transnational gas pipeline, passing through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, was commissioned in 2009.
Under the new arrangements, the annual volume of fuel delivered to China will be increased to 65 billion cubic meters in the future through additional communications. In 2011, the Turkmen gas was transferred to the pipeline system of Guangdong Province - one of the most populous and fastest developing regions in China, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.