On the afternoon of May 8, 2005, Chinese President Hu Jintao met in the hotel where he stayed with his Turkmen counterpart Saparmurat Niyazov.

Hu Jintao said that he was deeply impressed by the warm hospitality of the Turkmen people when he at invitation paid a visit to Turkmenistan in 1995. Niyazov said that Hu's last visit was a success and propelled the growth of bilateral relations.

With regard to China-Turkmenistan relationship, Hu Jintao noted that the Chinese government attaches great importance to developing the friendly and cooperative relationship with Turkmenistan and regards Turkmenistan as an important partner in the Central Asian region. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China-Turkmenistan relationship has been growing smoothly, with frequent high-level exchanges, increasingly expanded economic and trade cooperation and constantly strengthened traditional friendship. The two countries hold identical views on many major regional and international issues and support each other and enjoy sound cooperation in international organizations including the United Nations. Hu Jintao stressed that the Chinese side will as always support the policy of opening up and permanent neutrality adopted by Turkmenistan. He believed that with the joint efforts of both sides, the relations between the two countries will constantly advance to new levels.

Niyazov said the Turkmen people values the profound friendship with the Chinese people and has never changed their position of firmly supporting the principled stance of the Chinese government on the Taiwan question. The cooperation between China and Turkmenistan in politics, economy, culture and other areas has yielded fruitful results. The Turkmen side is willing to strengthen the cooperation with China and learn from the development experience of China.

The two heads of state also reached importance consensus on expanding the mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of economy and trade. Niyazov indicated that both sides have carried out successful cooperation in such fields as textile, transportation, communications, which has brought about substantial benefits to Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan boasts rich oil and gas resources and China and Turkmenistan enjoy bright prospects for the cooperation in the field of energy exploration, development and processing. The Turkmen side welcomes Chinese enterprises to expand cooperation with related Turkmen enterprises in the field of energy. Hu Jintao said the Chinese side supports the enterprises of both countries in strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation in oil and gas exploration and development so as to benefit the two peoples.