Uzbekistan and China have signed an agreement regarding the construction and exploitation of a 530-kilometer long gas pipeline, Uzbek media reports said today.

Another agreement on a joint gas exploration project in the eastern Namangan province was also inked between Uzbekistan's state-owned gas company Uzbekneftegaz and the Chinese national oil and gas corporation, UzA reported without giving further details.

The agreements were reached during meetings with a visiting Chinese delegation headed by Chinese development and reform minister Ma Kai, who met Uzbek President Islam Karimov and other government officials Monday, the reports said.

Details such as the cost of the construction and when it will start were not given.

However, press-uz.info, which reported the capacity of the proposed pipeline at 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually, added that the construction will also include two compressor stations.

Energy hungry China has actively courted the region's resource rich nations over the last few years as it seeks power for its rapidly developing economy.

Uzbekistan is the world's 13th largest natural gas producer, according to statistics from the energy giant BP but most of its production is taken up by domestic consumption.

China has become one of Uzbekistan's biggest trading partners and foreign investors in recent years.