In the first quarter of 2024, trade between Ashgabat and China totaled nearly $2.6bn. Turkmenistan accounted for approximately 92% of this amount, reaching $2.39bn, primarily through the sale of natural gas to Beijing, the Turkmen government-affiliated website, Business Turkmenistan reported.
Turkmenistan stands out in Central Asia for its trade surplus with China, a trend that continues to draw attention and raise diplomatic queries. Despite this economic advantage, recent diplomatic gestures from Beijing hint at a lukewarm stance toward Turkmenistan's importance on the global stage.
In contrast to Turkmenistan's surplus, other Central Asian nations are grappling with substantial deficits in their trade relationships with China. Moreover, the scale of Chinese-Turkmen trade appears to overshadow that of Turkmenistan's trade with Russia.
Ivan Volynkin, Russia's envoy in Ashgabat, disclosed that the annual bilateral trade turnover in 2023 between Russia and Turkmenistan was slightly over $1.6bn, markedly less than the staggering first-quarter figures in Turkmen-China trade.
Despite Turkmenistan's economic advantage in the trade arena, signs of diplomatic snubs from Beijing have surfaced. China dispatched a low-ranking delegation to Ashgabat in mid-May, led by a Chinese parliamentary official, to attend a Turkmen state celebration commemorating the 300th anniversary of the birth of Magtymguly Fragi, the national poet of Turkmenistan.
Despite this apparent lack of diplomatic precedence, the Chinese delegation was warmly received by Turkmen leaders, including President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who extended red-carpet treatment.
In late May, Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, addressing a governmental meeting, hailed China as a key strategic partner. While refraining from elaborating on specifics, Meredov underscored that relations with China are "effectively developing" across all sectors, encompassing political, commercial, cultural, and humanitarian domains.
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