Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov held talks in Shanghai Sunday, and vowed to cement cooperation in their mutual best interest.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) and visiting President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov held talks in Shanghai Sunday, and vowed to cement cooperation in their mutual best interest.?[Xinhua]

Berdymukhamedov, who is on a state visit to China, congratulated Hu on China's successful opening of the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

Hu said he welcomed more people from Turkmenistan to visit the exposition in Shanghai.

China attaches great importance to developing ties with Turkmenistan, "a sincere friend and trustworthy partner", he said, adding that China is willing to work together with Turkmenistan to deepen cooperation at different levels and in diverse fields, in the spirit of trust, mutual benefit and common development.

In a bid to cement cooperation, the Chinese president proposed the two countries should enhance exchanges, build up mutual political trust, cement high-level exchanges and cooperation between their governments, parliaments and political parties.

China and Turkmenistan should seek to supplement each other and deepen their cooperation, Hu said. "We should develop a long-term, stable and mutually beneficial cooperation relationship in the energy sector and promote development of related industries including trade, investment as well as oil and gas processing."

The two sides should also expand such cooperation to other sectors and launch some key projects in the fields of transport, telecommunication and infrastructure construction, said Hu.

He also called on the two countries to cement cooperation in combating terrorism and transnational crimes, and build up law enforcement capabilities to maintain peace and stability.

Meanwhile, he said China and Turkmenistan should also cement friendship between their peoples, increase exchanges in education, culture, science and technology, sports and tourism sectors, and encourage more exchanges between their artistic and cultural societies and non-governmental organizations.

Berdymukhamedov spoke highly of his country's relations with China, which he described as an "important partner".

The two countries have achieved positive results in cooperation in diverse sectors and have shown understanding and support for each other on issues concerning their vital interests as well as major international and regional issues, he said.

Turkmenistan is willing to work with China to elevate bilateral relations to a new high by cementing concrete cooperation and building up mutual understanding and friendship, he said.