Chinese, Russian negotiators meet again on energy cooperation

BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Russian negotiators met again in Beijing Tuesday "to exchange views on China-Russia energy cooperation," according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

It was the second meeting within three days between Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. They co-hosted the fifth round of Sino-Russian energy negotiators' meetings on Sunday.

The meeting was set to make preparations for "the upcoming 14thChina-Russia Prime Ministers' Meeting" slated for Sunday, said the statement, giving no further details.

Wang said Sunday that the two countries should continue cooperation in such areas as oil, natural gas, nuclear power and electricity, and seek solutions to problems in the field.

"China and Russia have witnessed a series of important fruitful achievements in energy cooperation this year," said Wang.

In April, China and Russia signed inter-governmental agreements on oil cooperation in Beijing, and the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on natural gas cooperation in June.

The China-Russia oil pipeline project was going smoothly and the loan China pledged to Russia had been implemented, said Wang.

The construction on the China section of an oil pipeline from Russia's Siberia started in May.

The 1,030-kilometer pipeline runs from Skovorodino, Russia, to China's northeastern city of Daqing.

It is expected to go into operation by the end of 2010 and carry 15 million tonnes of crude oil annually from Russia to China from 2011 to 2030.