The absolutely impossible made possible

China's venture into what was once Turkmenistan's drilling exclusion zone has created an energy Silk Road

Turkmenistan, China's neighbor in southwest Central Asia, is spread across 500,000 square kilometers, most of it desert. It also has nearly 50 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, the fourth largest in the world. Someone once joked that one can't just throw cigarette butts in Turkmenistan. It could ignite the natural gas underground.

Because of the complex geological conditions, gas exploration and development in Turkmenistan is not easy. Somewhere inside the vast desert is the world famous Gates of Hell, a fiery crater burning since 1971 when a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. To avoid polluting the environment with toxic gases, the mission was abandoned. There are other fire, water and mud pits in Turkmenistan, illustrating the difficult process of natural gas development.

In 2007, China launched an exploration and development project on the right bank of the Amu Darya, breathing new life into this "drilling exclusion zone". An annual production capacity of 5 billion cubic meters of commercial gas was built within 18 months. The success rate of drilling has since been 100 percent. Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov praised the Chinese workers as "heroic builders" and personally named the contract area as the "Land of Happiness".

From Turkmenistan, through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Khorgos in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, China has built the first and the world's longest transnational natural gas pipeline in what can be called the "energy Silk Road" of the new century.

Construction started in August 2007 and ended in 2009 - a remarkable achievement in the history of pipeline construction. The builders overcame difficulties such as large project volume, tight construction period, difficult construction conditions and the need for efficient coordination to achieve what western experts had asserted was "absolutely impossible".

The China-Turkmenistan natural gas pipeline has achieved win-win cooperation and shared benefits for gas producing, transit and consuming countries, and played an important role in promoting the development and stability of countries along the route and the region as well as building a community of shared future for countries in the region.

China is the world's largest energy consumer and Turkmenistan an important natural gas producer. Since the opening of the China-Turkmenistan natural gas pipeline, China has purchased more than 250 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The gas purchase and sale contract is valid for 30 years, giving China a steady supply of natural gas.

Such cooperation has also provided Turkmenistan a new channel to diversify its natural gas exports and obtain an important foreign exchange source. It has directly created tens of thousands of jobs for the locals and promoted the development of local construction, logistics, transportation, service and other related industries.

Over the years, the China National Petroleum Corporation has also invested $3.59 million to build a water treatment plant in Migan village in the heart of the desert, providing drinking water to over 5,000 people. President Berdymukhamedov attended the opening ceremony of the water plant.

The corporation has also built over 1,000 kilometers of roads and 11 bridges along the Amu Darya right bank contract zone, greatly facilitating travel by residents, who affectionately call it the "China road".

It has also sponsored the 5th Asian Indoor Sports and Wushu Games in 2017, the 2018 World Weightlifting Championship, and the First Caspian Economic Forum in 2019.

But natural gas cooperation is only a microcosm of the development of China-Turkmenistan ties. In recent years, bilateral cooperation in transportation, economy, trade, culture and other areas has achieved remarkable results. The opening of the container train between China, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran has shortened transportation distance between China and the Persian Gulf by more than 600 km and reduced travel time from 28 to 14 days, facilitating trade.

Locomotives, coaches and other railway equipment made in China account for more than 80 percent of Turkmenistan's market and more than 90 percent of its railway capacity. Huawei, Lenovo and other Chinese telecommunications and electronic products are well known in Turkmenistan. The two sides have explored the potential of trade cooperation through "Made in China" comprehensive commodities exhibition in Turkmenistan and International Import Expo in China.

Cultural and people-to-people exchanges have also become increasingly frequent. China and Turkmenistan successfully hold the Scientific Innovation Forum on rotation and hold a "Culture Day" in both countries. The number of Turkmenistan students studying Chinese has more than tripled since 2016, with about 3,000 studying in China. The two countries have also actively expanded cooperation in the historical research of the ancient Silk Road and the protection of Silk Road sites.

More than 2,000 years ago, starting from China's ancient capital of Xi'an, the Silk Road, which spanned thousands of kilometers and extended to Europe through ancient Turkmenistan cities such as Mary and Nisa, took Chinese silk, tea, porcelain, technology and culture to Turkmenistan while introducing Turkmenistan's national treasure - the Akhal-Teke or Ferghana Horse, also called the "Horse from Heaven" - to China.

On January 6, 1992, shortly after Turkmenistan's independence, China and Turkmenistan signed a joint communiqu�� establishing diplomatic ties. During President Xi Jinping's state visit to Turkmenistan in September 2013, the two heads of state signed the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of Strategic Partnership.

China was the first country in the world to establish diplomatic ties with Turkmenistan, and among the first to support Turkmenistan's policy of permanent neutrality. Turkmenistan is the first central Asian country President Xi visited after taking office. From 2011 to 2018, China has become Turkmenistan's largest trading partner for eight consecutive years.

President Xi proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and Turkmenistan President Berdymukhamedov proposed the "revival of the Ancient Silk Road". The two heads of state have put forward highly compatible proposals, aimed at strengthening mutual beneficial cooperation and promoting common development. Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, China-Turkmenistan strategic partnership will surely contribute more to the well-being of the two peoples and regional peace, stability and development.

The author is China's ambassador to Turkmenistan. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.