China's largest petrochemical corporation China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed a long term sponsorship agreement with Allsopp, Parker & Marsh (APM), a British sports management company, Tuesday in London, giving Sinopec the exclusive right to sponsor the Chinese F1 Grand Prix late September in Shanghai.

Sinopec's Vice President Li Chunguang and APM President PatrickMcNally signed the agreement representing the two corporations.

"Fomula One in China is a landmark for international motor sport. Sinopec is pleased to contribute to the expansion of F1,"said Li.

Shanghai F1 Grand Prix is a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship and will be held on September 24 to 26 at the Shanghai International Circuit, the most modern circuit on the race calendar.

He told Xinhua that negotiations with APM led to a very successful conclusion within just less than a month time, beating HSBC which kept negotiating with APM for three years when Sinopec was involved. Both sides thought that the cooperation between Sinopec and APM would benefit both Sinopec and the F1 events.

He said F1 sports would become widely known in China through the sponsorship of Sinopec while his company would boost its imageand become more populous among consumers both at home and internationally.

It would also display the good performances of the company and,more widely to say, China's economic achievements, he added.

Bernie Ecclestone who is a tycoon in commercial development andpromotion for F1 events said, "just as China is a perfect fit for Formula 1, so too is Sinopec the ideal sponsor for the Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix."

Sinopec is the largest oil company in China and its parent company China Petrochemical Corporation was ranked 70th of the Fortune 500 in 2002. Sinopec is the sixth largest petrochemical company in the world and number one in Asia.