ASHGABAT, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese official started on Sunday a friendly visit to Turkmenistan, aiming to help strengthen China's cooperation with the Central Asian country.
Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s Central Committee, arrived in Ashgabat late Saturday night after a four- hour brief visit to Afghanistan.
"China and Turkmenistan are good friends and partners. I am looking forward to expanding our bilateral cooperation, which is mutually beneficial," Zhou said in a written speech released upon his arrival.
He noted that since the establishment of diplomatic ties 20 years ago, China and Turkmenistan have maintained a sound and smooth development of friendly cooperation, and have had close coordination and mutual support on global and regional affairs.
Turkmenistan is the last leg of Zhou's three-nation Asia tour, which also took him to Singapore.