Turkmenistan has agreed to increase its natural gas supply to China by 20 billion cubic meters a year, China's top economic planning body announced Wednesday.

The two sides reached the consensus Tuesday during a meeting between Zhang Ping, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and visiting Turkmenistan Deputy Prime Minister Baymyrat Hojamuhammedov, said a statement on the NDRC website.

The two countries would sign an inter-governmental framework agreement in the second half of this year, the statement said.

Last year, China National Petroleum Co. signed a deal with Uzbekistan to purchase 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. The gas will be transported to China via the central Asia pipeline that runs from Turkmenistan to Horgos, a border city in Xinjiang.

The deal would ensure annually 40 billion cubic meters of imports from central Asian countries, including imports of 30 billion cubic meters per year from Turkmenistan.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2011 )