Chinese president starts visit to Turkmenistan

Chinese President Hu Jintao flew into Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, Sunday for a working visit to the central Asian state.

In Ashgabat, the Chinese president will meet his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov to exchange views on strengthening the cooperative ties between the two countries.

The two leaders will review the progress in bilateral ties in recent years, and make plans for boosting bilateral ties and all-round cooperation in the years to come, said Chinese diplomats.

In recent years, China and Turkmenistan have maintained frequent exchange of high-level contacts. In August 2008, President Hu paid a state visit to the central Asian country.

In September this year, the Chinese president met Berdymukhamedov on the sidelines of UN meetings in New York. During the meeting, President Hu put forward proposals for expanding bilateral cooperation.

Chinese diplomats said that President Hu and state leaders of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are scheduled to take part in an inauguration ceremony for the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline Monday.

The 1,833-km pipeline starts at the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and runs through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan before reaching the Chinese northwest region of Xinjiang.

The project, initiated by leaders of China and Turkmenistan, serves the long-term interests of both countries and will promote the social and economic development of the two countries, Chinese officials said.

One of two pipelines that make up the project has been completed and the other line is expected to be operational next year.