The Turkmen leader presented an Akhal-Teke horse to China, emphasizing a shared heritage in the Year of the Horse

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:

"According to the Eastern calendar, 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse. In our country, the current year is held under the motto 'Independent Neutral Turkmenistan — the Land of Purposeful Winged Horses.'

I say this for a reason. After all, horses, these 'celestial' steeds, are one of the symbols of the shared historical heritage of the Turkmen and Chinese peoples.

As is well known, in the 2nd century BC, the Turkmen people presented their 'celestial' horses — the legendary Akhal-Teke steeds — as a gift to the Emperor of China. This became an important friendly diplomatic step and an event of strategic significance.

There is great potential for horse breeding to become an important area of cooperation. Chinese horse breeders are members of the International Akhal-Teke Horse Breeding Association. The President of this Association is the head of our state. We invite Chinese horse breeders to the events that will be held in Turkmenistan this year."