Five contracts with a total value of US$4.7 billion were signed in New York on Monday by China and the United States in the fields of petrochemistry, telecommunications and energy.

The deals involved more than a dozen companies of both sides and the largest was worth more than US$3 billion. This sum was tied to a framework agreement between Sinopec and Exxon Mobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil, mainly on the establishment of an integrated oil refinery joint venture in East China's Fujian Province.

Zeng Peiyan, minister of the State Development Planning Commission, and US Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans attended the signing ceremony at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in the presence of some 100 government officials and entrepreneurs from both countries.

"Bilateral economic and technological cooperation between the two countries has bridged the gap between us and promoted the friendship between our peoples," said Zeng.

"And the diversification of our cooperation fully represents the extensiveness and mutual complementarity in our economic cooperation."

Another contract was China Unicom's purchasing framework for code division multiple access (CDMA) technology. The company is expected to purchase network equipment and services worth about US$1 billion from Motorola, Lucent Technology, Nortel Networks and Ericsson.

Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewer, established a strategic alliance with Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd., in which the American company is planning to increase its shareholding in Tsingtao from 4.5 percent to 27 percent, and to provide the latter with financial and technical aid.

Axens North America Inc has been selected by China's Shenhua Group Corporation to be its basic engineering designer and technical service provider for its coal liquefaction project in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in North China.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Soap Group signed an agreement to acquire the bankrupt Moltech, which produces rechargeable batteries in the United States.

The two countries also signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding on an e-language project that will help provide high school students with excellent language education resources.

The document was signed by visiting Chinese Vice-Minister of Education Zhou Ji and US Secretary of Education Roderick Paige.

The project is one of the most substantial joint projects of the two governmental education authorities since the establishment of the diplomatic relationship in 1979, a Chinese embassy official said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2002)