Russia and China pledged Wednesday to cooperate more closely in producing oil and gas, and the Russian president vowed to go forward with a much-anticipated pipeline to carry Siberian oil to fuel China's booming economy.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced no details of the oil pipeline or its timing after meeting in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, for the fifth time in less than a year.

Russian President Putin (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao after his speech at the Sino-Russian Industrial and Commercial Forum at Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing March 22, 2006. [Reuters]

Putin promised on Tuesday to expand Russian energy supplies to China by opening a natural gas pipeline network within five years. But he gave no concrete details on the oil pipeline that Beijing is also eagerly seeking. Russian officials say a feasibility study must be finished before those plans are finalized.

Nevertheless, an official of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp told Dow Jones Newswires the pipeline should be completed by about 2008 and carry 200,000 barrels of oil a day. The official, Wang Shengzi, said CNPC would build a refinery to process the imports.

Also Wednesday, the head of Russian oil company OAO Rosneft said it would launch joint ventures with CNPC to produce Russian crude and operate filling stations in China.

"We should see various ways to cooperate in energy and resources," Hu said at the opening of a Russian-Chinese business forum. "We should work hard on the exploration of energy, such as oil and gas."

China is lobbying for access to Russian oil and gas amid a worldwide scramble to secure energy for its sizzling economy, which the government says should grow by 8 percent this year.

A key project is the planned 4,100-kilometer (2,550-mile) Siberian pipeline to the Pacific coast that drew heavy lobbying from both China and Japan for the most favorable routing.

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