Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said on Monday that his country will continue to develop relations with China, according to reports from the Turkmen capital city of Ashkhabad.

Berdymukhamedov made the remarks when meeting with a visiting delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) led by Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 15 years ago, Turkmenistan and China have strengthened mutual political trust and their cooperation in such fields as trade and economy, culture, education and humanities has developed rapidly, he said.

Strengthening cooperation conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, Berdymukhamedov added.

The president also expressed Turkmenistan's unswerving support for China's cause of peaceful unification.

Wang spoke highly of Berdymukhamedov's visit to China in July, saying both the CPC and the Chinese government are ready to make concerted efforts with Turkmenistan to push forward the all-around, in-depth development of their pragmatic cooperation.

Turkmenistan is the last leg of the Chinese delegation's five-nation tour, which has already taken it to Tajikistan, Georgia, Macedonia and Albania.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2007)