On May 13, 2023, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu. Ma Zhaoxu said that China attaches great importance to its relations with Turkmenistan, and that the successful visit to China by President Serdar Berdimuhamedov in January this year and joint announcement by the two heads of state to elevate the China-Turkmenistan relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and to build a China-Turkmenistan community with a shared future had opened a new era in the development of China-Turkmenistan relations.

The Turkmen side spoke highly of the development of Turkmenistan-China relations, and noted that it stands ready to fully implement the important common understandings reached between the two heads of state, and jointly push the Turkmenistan-China comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level. Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed his expectation to attend the upcoming China-Central Asia Summit and hold talks with President Xi Jinping.

Ma Zhaoxu also held China-Turkmenistan diplomatic consultation with Acting Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Vepa Hajiyev. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and the China-Central Asia Summit.