Turkmen President on a state visit to China

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 08 Jan 2023 by Alex Teddy
On January 5 he arrived in Beijing for a 2-day visit. The Turkmen government revealed little about the trip. The president met his Chinese counterpart.  President Berdymukhamedov only took over from his father in 2022. Relations with China are top priority, especially as Russia is distracted by Ukraine. Turkmenistan does not want to rely on access to Russian pipelines.  The two presidents discussed oil and gas sales: the Belt and Road Initiative and Afghanistan. There is an aspiration to build a new natural gas pipeline to China. There is already a China - Central Asia Pipeline but this is at capacity. Turkmenistan has the 4th largest proven gas reserves in the world. Gas sales to China are vital to the economy. Most of the country's USD 10 billion trade with China is made up of these sales. Price volatility and the need to repay China for the pipeline construction have wreaked havoc on the economy. Annual trade with China increased 53% YoY in 2022. Turkmenistan has little bargaining power in relation to China. Turkmenistan suffers from inflation and food shortages. The country's finances are in a bad state. Turkmen gas contracts with China are largely secret. The price, terms and duration are seldom published. Turkmenistan is part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, along with China.  Ashgabat has few partners and therefore few options. China has Turkmenistan over a barrel and knows it. Turkmenistan does not wish to be exploited but at the moment has no alternative. Turkmenistan is run by one family and a handful of cronies. China has no problem with the Turkmen regime. Russia started buying some Turkmen gas in 2018. In June 2022 Serdar Berdymukhamedov flew to M...

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