There was a great potential for the cooperation between Turkey and China in the energy field, said Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz on Tuesday when meeting with visiting Chinese Deputy Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei in Turkish capital Ankara.

Speaking at a signature ceremony on a bilateral "Salt Lake Underground Natural Gas Storage Project" held at Ankara's Rixos Hotel, Yildiz said that Turkey and China were two countries attracting the global attention with their booming economy.

Turkey and China must cooperate to strengthen their economy, Yildiz said.

"There was a great potential for cooperation between our two countries in the energy field. We need to increase cooperation with China," Yildiz said.

Jiang Zengwei said that the world economies were progressing towards a union and there is a need for more influential cooperation between Turkey and China.

"We pay attention to that the renewable energy is a great part of Turkish government's investments. China is willing to enhance cooperation with Turkey in the energy sector in terms of technology, equipment, capital and talents," Jiang said.

The China Tianchen Engineering Cooperation has started on Tuesday an underground natural gas storage project in Turkey's middle-western Salt Lake area, under the framework of a contract signed with the Turkish BOTAS company earlier. The contract is worth over 555 million U.S. dollars, according to Wang Zhiyuan, president of the China Tianchen Engineering Cooperation.