China, Turkmenistan lift bilateral ties to strategic partnership

Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and his Turkmenian counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov review an honor guard prior to their meeting in Ashkhabad, capital of Turkmenistan, Sept. 3, 2013. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Turkmenian counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, signed a joint declaration on Tuesday to lift bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.

The document, inked following talks between the two presidents, marks a new phase in the development of China-Turkmenistan relations and heralds a better future for bilateral cooperation.

The two sides stressed that, no matter how the global and regional situations change, their relationship will remain a priority in both countries' foreign policy.

Xi is in Turkmenistan for an ongoing Central Asia tour, which will also take him to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. He will also attend a Group of Twenty summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg and a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan.

Upon his arrival in Ashkhabad, the Chinese president said the timing and conditions are ripe for a strategic upgrade of bilateral ties.