China and Russia will continue to promote the pipeline programme designed to export crude oil and natural gas from Russia to China, according to a joint statement signed in Beijing yesterday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the joint statement at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.

The energy cooperation between China and Russia, as an important part of the Sino-Russian Strategic Partnership of Cooperation, is developing at a high level, and is of important significance for further deepening bilateral economic ties, says the statement.

Both China and Russia follow the strategy of diversification in the field of energy. The two sides support companies from both nations to invest in the exploration of oil and gas resources and tap the energy potential of both nations, the statement says.

The two sides also encourage companies from both nations to benefit each other by cooperating in other areas, including in oil and natural gas processing, the petrochemical industry and mechanical manufacturing, the statement notes.

According to the statement, both sides have noticed that electric power companies are making active efforts to promote Russia's export of large-scale electric power to China.

The cooperation between Chinese and Russian companies, the gradual implementation of an energy cooperation programme, and the long-term and mutually-beneficial energy cooperation agreements between governments and relevant departments, will help promote the economic growth of both nations and enhance energy security inthe Asia-Pacific region and the world at large, the statement says.

After the signing of the joint statement, China and Russia inked three deals on oil and natural gas cooperation. They comprised an agreement between the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and the Russian oil company of Rosneft to form a joint venture on further oil cooperation, a memorandum of understanding between the CNPC and Russia's natural gas company Gazprom for natural gas supply to China, and a summary of negotiations between CNPC and Transneft, a pipeline transport company of Russia.