China and the Central Asian countries need to expand energy cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday.

Xi made the remarks in his keynote address at the China-Central Asia Summit in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

China proposes to build a China-Central Asia energy development partnership, he said.

He called on the two sides to accelerate the construction of Line D of the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, expand trade in oil and gas, pursue cooperation throughout the energy industrial chains, and strengthen cooperation on new energy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.