Visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with his Turkmenian counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov after signing a joint declaration on establishing a strategic partnership between the two countries in Ashkhabad, capital of Turkmenistan, Sept. 3, 2013. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Turkmenian counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, signed a joint declaration here Tuesday to lift bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.

The document, inked following talks between the two presidents, marks a new phase in the development of China-Turkmenistan relations and heralds a better future for bilateral cooperation.

The two sides stressed that, no matter how the global and regional situations change, their relationship will remain a priority in both countries' foreign policy.

Xi is in Turkmenistan for an ongoing Central Asia tour, which will also take him to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. He will also attend a Group of Twenty summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg and a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan.

Upon his arrival in Ashkhabad, the Chinese president said the timing and conditions are ripe for a strategic upgrade of bilateral ties.