Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is on a goodwill visit to China, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, March 18, 2026. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Turkmenistan should expand the scale of cooperation in the natural gas sector, and elevate trade and investment levels, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Beijing on Wednesday.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, adding that the two sides should expand cooperation in non-resource fields, including connectivity, agriculture, artificial intelligence, digital economy and clean energy. ■

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is on a goodwill visit to China, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, March 18, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping takes a walk with National Leader of the Turkmen People and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is on a goodwill visit to China, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, March 18, 2026. Xi met with Berdimuhamedov in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)