On the afternoon of December 2, 2005, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with visiting Vice Prime Minister Atamurat Berdyiev of Turkmenistan in Zhongnanhai.

Tang indicated that bilateral relations have been developing soundly with mutual political trust continuously enhanced and the cooperation in the areas of economy & trade, energy resources and humanities steadily deepened and both sides have conducted effective cooperation in international and regional affairs. China supports Turkmenistan's policy of permanent neutrality and its efforts in safeguarding state independence, sovereignty and dignity. It is hoped that both sides will further tap potential to push for in-depth development of bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various areas and upgrade bilateral relations to a new level according to the important consensus reached between their leaders in the principle of equality, mutual trust and mutual benefits.

Berdyiev noted that the Turkmenian government and people are delighted with China's development achievements. Turkmenistan attaches great importance to bilateral relations and would like to continue deepening bilateral cooperation in energy resources and other areas and push for continuous development of relations between both sides.