Niyazov made the remarks in Ashgabat after talks with Yu Guangzhou, China's visiting deputy commerce minister.
Under a deal signed in April, China is due to buy an annual 30 billion cubic meters of Turkmen natural gas over 30 years.
Also today, Turkmenistan and China signed four agreements on cooperation in the textile, oil, and gas equipment, communications, and customs sectors. A fifth agreement on the issuance of Chinese soft loans to Turkmenistan was also closed.
In other news, Turkmenistan's official TDH news agency reports that Niyavov today appointed Yarmukhammet Orazgulyev as chairman of Turkmenergo, the country's national electricity production company.
Orazgulyev will also assume the duties of first deputy energy and industry minister, with a six-month probation period.
(NewsCentralAsia, Interfax, www.turkmenistan.gov.tm)