Chinese foreign minister talks energy in Central Asia but Afghanistan casts a shadow over meetings

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has pledged that China will help Turkmenistan address its security concerns amid rapidly worsening conditions in neighbouring Afghanistan, as Beijing hopes to firm up a strategic energy partnership to secure natural gas supplies from Ashgabat.

Wang made the remarks on Monday during a meeting with his Turkmen counterpart on the first stop of his three-nation Central Asia tour.