Central Asia's Biggest Pipeline Deal Has a Data Problem

China’s leading international broadcaster, CGTN, aired an interview March 24 with Turkmenistan’s paramount leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, touting how “mutual trust and centuries-old exchanges” shape present-day bilateral relations. But such messaging struck a discordant note during the actual interview, when Berdymukhamedov’s figures for his country’s natural gas exports to China proved significantly different than those subsequently proffered by Chinese officials. During the interview, taped while the Turkmen…