国内英语新闻:Senior Chinese, Russian officials discuss energy cooperation

BEIJING, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China and Russia on Wednesday agreed to expand their energy cooperation during a meeting between Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.

Zhang, chairman of the Chinese side of the China-Russia energy cooperation committee, said the meeting was aimed at implementing the consensus reached between the presidents of the two countries and preparing for their meeting in Shanghai this month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit China in May and attend the summit of Confidence Building Measures in Asia.

Zhang commended the achievements of the China-Russia energy cooperation committee over the past year and praised the mechanism for its pragmatism and efficiency, urging the two sides to advance their major cooperative projects.

He said China and Russia are reliable and priority parters for each other in the field of energy and voiced hope of expanded cooperation with Russia in sectors including oil and gas supply, nuclear energy, coal, electricity and renewable energy.

The two sides are expected to work on increasing oil supply according to agreements, cooperate more on upstream oil development, promote Tianjin refinery construction, advance discussion of natural gas pipeline projects and make progress in other energy fields, according to the Chinese vice premier.

Dvorkovich, chairman of the Russian side of the cooperation committee, echoed Zhang's view, saying that Russia is willing to broaden cooperation with China in energy.

The two sides signed meeting minutes after they concluded their talks.