China Bolsters Ties With Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan

China has sent a senior official to visit Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, two key suppliers of natural gas.

Chen Zhili, a special envoy of Chinese president Hu Jintao and chair of the All-China Women's Federation, is in Tashkent and Ashgabat on January 5-14 to celebrate .the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the two former Soviet republics.

Beijing’s growing ties with both states were cemented in 2009 with the launch of a trans-Central Asia pipeline bringing their gas to the energy-hungry Chinese market. Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov was in China in November to sign a deal envisaging a massive increase in current supply levels.

Turkmen political analyst Gurban Yovshanov says Beijing has found a lot in common with both states.

"Their interaction is excellent both in the oil and gas sector and in other economic sectors," Yovshanov said. "Unlike others, Beijing has a very good understanding of Ashgabat and Tashkent, and doesn’t demand an improvement in the rights situation or anything like that in exchange for investment."

This article was produced as part of IWPR's News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.

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