Russia, China eye oil deal

Russia, China eye oil deal

MOSCOW (AFP): Russia and China are on the verge of signing a
major oil deal that will nearly double trade exchanges between
the two sides by 2005, Beijing's new ambassador to Moscow said on
Thursday.

The deal between the Russian oil major Yukos, the national
pipeline monopoly Transneft and a Chinese energy concern is
likely be signed during next week's visit to Moscow by Chinese
Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, ambassador Zhang Deguang said.

The pipeline, to be completed by 2005, will run from Russia's
Siberian region of Irkutsk to Daling in northeastern China, Zhang
said.

It will boost annual trade by US$6 billion more than the total
of $8 billion recorded last year, the ambassador said.

"Both sides have agreed to sign the contract for the
pipeline," Zhang said.

The Chinese delegation and Yukos officials will sign "a very
specific and important document," during Zhu's September 7-12
visit, Zhang said.

A framework agreement for the deal was signed during last
month's visit to Russia by Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, and has
been under negotiation for more than two years.