China looks to Turkmenistan for more gas as it cuts Australian supplies
- Chinese foreign minister says his country wants to expand cooperation on the resource with the Central Asia state
- Turkmenistan is already China’s biggest supplier of the resource
China is looking to Turkmenistan to expand natural gas supplies as it cuts back on Australian energy imports.
Wrapping up a meeting with his Turkmen counterpart Rashid Meredov and the country’s deputy prime minister Serdar Berdymukhamedov in Xian on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said cooperation on natural gas was the “ballast stone” of the bilateral relationship.
“China sees Turkmenistan as a long-term cooperative partner on natural gas, and is willing to formulate a comprehensive cooperation plan with the Turkmenistan side with a future-oriented perspective,” Wang said, according to a foreign ministry statement on Monday night.
The ministry said China and Turkmenistan agreed to “further consolidate and expand cooperation in natural gas, and create a full industry chain strategic partnership in the energy sector”.
Wang also said China and Turkmenistan should also create new “engines” for cooperation beyond resources, such as trade, investment, connectivity and technology.