On Monday, November 22, a regular, 5th meeting of the Turkmen-Chinese Committee for Cooperation was held.  The meeting, organized by videoconference, was chaired by the co-chairman of the Turkmen part of the committee, Vice-Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Serdar Berdimuhamedov and co-chairman of the Chinese part of the committee, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Vice Premier of the State Council of the PRC Han Zheng.

 The meeting participants exchanged views on the current agenda of cooperation between the two countries in the political-diplomatic, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres, as well as issues of expanding the spheres of interaction.

 As noted, as a result of important bilateral events held since the beginning of this year, an impetus was given to the further development of the strategic partnership between Turkmenistan and China.

 The parties noted the fruitful cooperation between Turkmenistan and the PRC within the framework of multilateral diplomacy, primarily in the UN and other authoritative international organizations.  The effective interaction of the countries in the «China + Central Asia» format was also stated.

 As the head of the delegation of Turkmenistan S. Berdimuhamedov emphasized, in the context of solving the tasks set by the leaders of the two countries to further intensify the Turkmen-Chinese partnership, it is important to note the prospects of bilateral cooperation in such areas as the digital economy, financial and banking sector, “green” low-carbon development, transport and  logistics, communication networks, chemical industry, agriculture, introduction of energy and water saving technologies, etc.

 Traditionally, the main spheres of bilateral partnership in the trade and economic sphere are energy, transport and trade.

 The parties noted that in order to strengthen cooperation in the transport and communication sphere between Turkmenistan and the PRC, as well as to accelerate work on pairing the development strategy «Revival of the Great Silk Road» with the «One Belt, One Road» initiative, the most important factor in ensuring the development of the economies of the two countries  is the efficient functioning of transport and logistics.

 During the meeting, the sides also discussed the implementation of agreements in the oil and gas industry, in particular, issues related to the export of Turkmen natural gas to China.

 Further development of cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere was noted as an important area of ​​the Turkmen-Chinese partnership.  Scientific and educational projects, as well as cooperation in the field of medicine and health care, the sphere of high technologies remain the priority aspects of interaction.

 Following the meeting, a package of documents was signed aimed at strengthening the legal framework of interstate relations.  Among them: the Program on cooperation between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the PRC for the period 2021-2025;  Agreement between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the People's Republic of China on cooperation in the field of ensuring international cybersecurity;  Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Turkmenistan and the PRC on Biological Safety;  Cooperation program to expand economic partnership between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the PRC.