China to Discuss Russia Gas Supplies

China is expecting progress on natural gas negotiations with Russia on the sidelines of a visit by Premier Wen Jiabao to Moscow next week despite long-held disagreement over pricing, Business Times has reported.

"Under the joint efforts of both sides, I believe China-Russia natural gas cooperation will achieve substantial progress," Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told journalists, the newspaper said.

Russia, the world's second-largest producer of natural gas after the United States, has for years unsuccessfully tried to secure a deal to sell pipeline gas to China, the world's largest energy consumer.

The two countries have failed so far to iron out differences on price and routes.