A new pipeline to carry natural gas from Turkmenistan to China is expected to top the agenda during talks between the two countries’ presidents in Beijing on Tuesday.

Gurmanguly Berdymukhammedov, president of the central Asian republic, last week declared that his two-day visit would mark “not only a new page in the chronicles of Turkmen/Chinese co-operation, but also a milestone in the fulfilment of Turkmenistan’s entire foreign policy strategy”.