China's state-controlled oil firm Sinopec and Sibur Holidings, a subsidiary of Russian state-run gas monopoly Gazprom, have signed an initial deal to set up two joint chemical plants in Russia's Krasnoyarsk and China's Shanghai.
Sinopec and Gazprom are also considering co-operating on petrochemical feedstock and unconventional energy resources, while agreeing to hold talks about joint upstream and downstream opportunities.
The deal was signed during Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin's visit to China this week, where he is accompanied by a large Russian business delegation, including Gazprom and state-controlled oil firm Rosneft. Moscow and Beijing hope to make a breakthrough on a long-stalled natural gas deal to supply Russian gas to China. But industry analysts are not optimistic about any resolution during Putin's visit with the two sides still at odds over
pricing.