China-Turkmenistan co-op consolidates central Asian energy corridor(2)

CEMENT ENERGY CORRIDOR

China's cooperation with Turkmenistan is an integral part of the central Asian all-win cooperation, represented by the construction of the China-central Asia natural gas pipelines spreading on the territories of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China.

The 1,830-km-long line C, parallel to Line A and Line B, started to transport natural gas to China in June at the Turkmen-Uzbek border and runs through central Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan before reaching China's northwest region of Xinjiang.

Line A was launched in December 2009, and Line B in October 2010. The construction of Line D is expected to be launched at the end of this year and ready for gas transmission in 2016.

By then, the combined gas transmission of the pipelines is set to reach the target of 65 billion cubic meters per year.

Vowing to develop a long-term, stable and mutually beneficial energy strategic partnership, China and Kazakhstan agreed in May to speed up the construction of more cross-border crude oil and gas pipelines.

The network of crude oil and gas pipelines has brought about substantial benefits to all the countries concerned.

The China-Turkmenistan gas pipelines have transmitted more than 90 billion cubic meters of natural gas over the past few years. China has become the top trading partner and natural gas export market for Turkmenistan for the last three years.

Meanwhile, China and Uzbekistan last week signed deals worth over 6 billion U.S. dollars, ranging from trade, loan to the construction of natural gas pipelines and treatment plants.

Central Asia is considered the world's second largest source of oil and gas after the Persian Gulf with over 30 billion tons of exploitable crude and more than one trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

Energy cooperation has prompted rapid growth of trade volume between China and four central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which increased 13 percent year on year to 40.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, data from China's Ministry of Commerce showed.

China's initiatives of building the Silk Road economic belt and a 21st-century maritime Silk Road were put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his two separate visits to central Asia and Southeast Asia last fall.