Peking University, May 17, 2023: The Belt and Road Initiative has enabled more and more students from Central Asia to pursue higher education with scholarships in China. CGTN's Cen Ziyuan talks to Sapargeldi Amangeldiyev, a Ph.D. student from Turkmenistan, who is pursuing his green energy dream at Peking University. (Amangeldiyev is studying at the Department of Energy and Resources Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University.)

"My name is Sapargeldi. I am from Turkmenistan. I have been in China for about seven to eight years."

Amangeldiyev says that study-abroad opportunities have enabled him to expand his knowledge beyond what Turkmenistan is renowned for in terms of petroleum and into the realm of reusable carbon dioxide.

"My home country of Turkmenistan has inspired me to pursue a career in the petroleum industry. During my senior year in high school, my roommate and I learned that we could go to China and receive free education. We applied to joint education projects by Chinese and Turkmen companies. I was fortunate enough to make it through rounds of selection. The China University of Petroleum is where I went next," he says.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, over 500,000 students have come to China to study through the Belt and Road Initiative.

He is one of them.

"Turkmenistan has paid close attention to China and Central Asian collaboration. I came to China in 2015 through the Belt and Road Initiative education programs. This has benefited a lot of students in Central Asia. The Chinese government has offered us scholarships to learn the Chinese language as well as skills. The Belt and Road Initiative, as well as bilateral cooperation, allowed more students from the five countries in Central Asia to study in China," he says.

He shares his understanding of China and Turkmenistan ties.

"China and Turkmenistan have a long history of friendship. We know that the ancient Silk Road closely connected the two countries. This January, our president came to China for the first time after being elected into office. President Xi says with similar visions and objectives as well as intertwined interests, the two countries need to jointly pursue the journey towards development and rejuvenation. Regardless of whether it is the Belt and Road Initiative, green development, or it is at media and natural gas, we will achieve great results in these areas."

This story originally appeared in CGTN with the headline "Close Neighbors: Turkmen student pursues green energy dream in China."