At the beginning of 2026, Turkmenistan's foreign trade data showed impressive performance. From January to April, the bilateral trade volume between China and Turkey reached 3.0403 billion US dollars, exceeding 30% of the total amount in 2025 (10.046 billion US dollars), reflecting the strong momentum of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. At the same time, trade between Turkmenistan and the CIS countries has also accelerated, with a year-on-year increase of 30% in trade volume in the first quarter, laying a solid foundation for the growth of foreign trade throughout the year. Against the backdrop of a deep adjustment in the global energy landscape, this Central Asian country is accelerating its trade diversification strategy with abundant natural gas resources and unique geographical location.

More than 80% of exports to China

From January to April, Turkey exported 2.6116 billion US dollars to China and imported 428.6 million US dollars from China, maintaining its position as Turkey's largest trading partner. Structurally, Turkey's exports to China accounted for 85.9% of the total bilateral trade, with a trade surplus of up to 2.183 billion US dollars. This pattern is consistent with the data for the whole year of 2025- the trade volume between China and Turkey exceeded 10 billion US dollars last year, reaching 10.046 billion US dollars, and China is the core market for Turkey's energy exports. Natural gas pipeline transportation and chemical product trade constitute the two pillars of cooperation between the two countries. With the continuous construction of the China Central Asia natural gas pipeline D line, the binding between the two sides in the energy field will be further deepened.

Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus are the four core partners

While maintaining a high level of trade with China, the economic and trade exchanges between Turkmenistan and the CIS countries are also accelerating. Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Gedhimeradov, revealed at the expanded meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Ashgabat that the trade volume between Turkey and CIS countries reached 1.8 billion US dollars in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 30%. In 2025, this figure will exceed 4 billion US dollars, an increase of 7.2% compared to the previous year. Among them, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus are the four most active trading partners of Turkey within the Commonwealth of Independent States, with cooperation areas covering energy transit, agricultural products, and light industrial products. Keywords: Central Asian news, foreign trade

Since 2026, Turkmenistan's foreign trade has shown a dual wheel drive pattern: trade with China has maintained a stable share of over 80%, while trade with the Commonwealth of Independent States has rapidly expanded at a high growth rate of 30%. The continuous deepening of energy cooperation between China and Turkey and the accelerated opening of the CIS market are injecting new impetus into the economic transformation of this Central Asian country, and also providing broader space for Chinese enterprises to participate in the construction of energy infrastructure in Central AsiaEditor/Cheng Liting