China and Venezuela on Thursday signed eight agreements on a range of issues, including two on expanding energy cooperation, pointing to stronger ties between the two countries.

In the two agreements, the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and the PDVSA, the state-owned Venezuelan energy company, agreed to jointly develop Venezuelan oil fields, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

Other agreements, involving trade, energy, infrastructure construction and tourism, were signed after Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Beijing on Thursday.

"I'm very satisfied with the cooperation with China in the oil and petrochemical fields," Chavez told reporters after the ceremony, vowing to increase oil exports to China to 500,000 barrels per day in the near future.

During talks with Hu, Chavez said Venezuela would make concerted efforts with China to implement their proposals and strengthen cooperation in bilateral and multi-lateral areas so as to develop the bilateral strategic partnership.

Venezuela hoped to expand cooperation in energy, railway construction, telecommunications, agriculture, tourism, culture and education, and develop the bilateral high-level mixed committee into an important platform for enhancing cooperation, Chavez said.

As this year marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Sino-Venezuelan strategic partnership, Hu also offered a four-point proposal.

The first was to strengthen high-level exchanges and expand strategic consensus.

The Chinese side would work with Venezuela to expand exchanges and cooperation between governments, legislatures and political parties and strengthen dialogue, consultation and coordination on major issues of common concern, Hu said.

The second was to deepen reciprocal cooperation and speed up common development.

The Chinese side will join Venezuela in improving the functions of the bilateral high-level mixed committee, implementing cooperative projects, and exploring cooperation in railway construction, shipbuilding, oil machinery manufacturing and high technology, Hu said.

He also pledged that China would encourage enterprises to invest in Venezuela and welcome Venezuelan businesses to China.

China would work with Venezuela to explore their potentials and expand cooperation for better economic and social benefits, Hu added.

The third point was to enhance cultural exchanges and mutual understanding with expanded cultural, education, science, technology, media, and tourism exchanges.

The fourth was to strengthen international cooperation, especially coordination in international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the Organization of American States, Hu said.

Hu said Sino-Venezuelan relations had grown comprehensively and deepened with frequent exchanges of high-level visits, increasing political trust, substantial progress in cooperation, and sound cooperation in international and regional affairs.

Hu expressed his appreciation for the Venezuelan government's adherence to the one-China policy and firm support for China on major issues such as Taiwan.

Chavez said the development of bilateral relations has entered a new stage as the two countries strengthened political mutual trust, economic and trade cooperation, cultural exchanges and people-to-people friendship.

He said the Venezuelan government would continue to abide by the one-China policy.

Chavez arrived in Beijing as Hu's guest on Tuesday night, starting a six-day state visit to China.

He will also visit the eastern province of Shandong.

Chavez previously visited China in October 1999, May 2001, and December 2004. 

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Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan meets Chavez

The fifth meeting of the China-Venezuela mixed committee closed on Thursday in Beijing's Great Hall of the People with speeches from Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Zeng said China and Venezuela had built "a strategic partnership of common development" with both countries understanding and supporting each other on important international issues. Communication had greatly improved and the relationship had developed.

Since the committee's establishment five years ago, the two nations have done extensive cooperation on energy, agriculture and infrastructure, which promoted bilateral trade and investment by a big margin.

During the meeting, a series of government and business agreements had been signed.

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