Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin launched an energy resources negotiation mechanism in Beijing on Saturday.

"Today's first round of negotiation achieves positive fruits," Wang said after co-chairing the negotiation with Sechin.

Energy cooperation plays an important role in the strategic cooperation between China and Russia, he said, noting the establishment of the energy resources negotiation mechanism, which was decided by the two presidents, injected new vitality into the China-Russia energy cooperation.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also reached an important consensus on the energy cooperation, according to Wang.

He hoped the two sides would work together to fully exert the function of the energy resources negotiation mechanism, and to expand bilateral cooperation in such areas as oil, gas, nuclear energy and electric power, in a bid to enrich the connotation of the Sino-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation.

Sechin said the establishment and launch of the mechanism was of important significance for promoting the energy cooperation.

Russia was ready to work with China to fulfill the agreements between the leaders of both countries, and to push forward the energy cooperation to achieve a breakthrough, so as to lift the bilateral strategic partnership of cooperation to a new height, Sechin noted.

"The launch of such a mechanism indicates that the China-Russia energy cooperation enters into a new phase," Wen said while meeting with Sechin earlier on Saturday.

Wen hoped the two nations would achieve more progress in large-scale items concerning crude oil trade, construction on oil and gas pipelines, prospecting and exploitation, refining and chemical industries.

Wen also hoped the two countries would further promote cooperation in nuclear energy and make joint efforts for setting up a comprehensive, long-term, stable and mutually-beneficial cooperative relations in energy areas.

Sechin also delivered a letter from Putin to Wen. Sechin said Russia would cooperate with China to make full use of the negotiation mechanism to promote bilateral energy cooperation.

Sechin was visiting China at the invitation of Vice Premier Wang Qishan.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2008)