During a friendly visit to the People's Republic of China, the National Leader of the Turkmen people and Chairman of the Halk Maslakhaty, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, gave an extensive interview to CGTN, one of the world's largest television networks.

We present to you an excerpt from this conversation:

"Let me start with political and diplomatic cooperation. China was one of the first to recognize Turkmenistan's independence. On January 6, 1992, it became the first country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with our nation.

On September 3, 2013, a Joint Declaration was signed to establish a strategic partnership between Turkmenistan and China. Consequently, in January 2023, following the signing of a Joint Statement between Turkmenistan and the People's Republic of China, our countries reaffirmed their commitment to developing a comprehensive strategic partnership. These documents signify that Turkmen-Chinese relations have reached the highest level of interstate cooperation.

The two states cooperate effectively at the foreign policy level. Mechanisms for bilateral diplomatic relations and consultations have been established. A practice of mutual support within major international organizations, primarily the United Nations, has been implemented. This demonstrates that mutual understanding and effective methods have been established regarding the most crucial issues on the global and regional agendas.

I highly value and express my gratitude for China's unwavering support of Turkmenistan's Neutrality and our international initiatives. In turn, Turkmenistan always clearly expresses its views on issues important to our Chinese friends, including those concerning the territorial integrity and unity of the People's Republic of China. We strictly adhere to the 'One China' policy and confirm that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing all of China.

I would also like to highlight the effective cooperation with China in multilateral formats. Turkmenistan respects the work carried out by the People's Republic of China as one of the founders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Our country participates in SCO summits as an honored guest. Furthermore, cooperation within the 'Central Asia — China' format, created based on the initiatives put forward by our states, is steadily growing.

For many years, China has remained Turkmenistan's largest trade and economic partner. From 2007 to the present, the trade turnover between our countries has increased 20 times. It is important to note that trade turnover remains stable, amounting to 9–10 billion US dollars annually."