BEIJING -- Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli met with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller on Oct 10, with new energy cooperation deals on the horizon.

Zhang expressed the hope that the two sides would actively advance talks on the western route of natural gas supply from Russia to China.

Miller said he was ready for progress on the project.

He said on a separate occasion last month that the Russian energy company planned to sign a 30-year gas supply contract with China via the western route.

The western route pipeline will connect gas deposits in Western Siberia with the northwestern part of China via Russia’s Altai region. China has already signed a contract with Russia on importing 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually through the eastern route gas pipeline. Construction of the eastern route began in Russia in September.

“During the talks about new contracts on the western route, a possibility of supplying 60 billion to 100 billion cubic meters is being considered,” Interfax news agency quoted Miller as saying last month.

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli (R) meets with Russia's Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 10, 2014.[Photo/Xinhua]

During their meeting, Zhang reaffirmed the importance of natural gas collaboration both in the upper and lower flows of the industry, and hoped the eastern route pipeline would proceed as planned.

Zhang said the meeting with miller is an important step to implement the consensus that the presidents of the two countries reached on expanding energy cooperation. He said the meeting is also aimed to make preparation in the energy aspect for the 19th regular meeting between the heads of government of the two countries, slated for later this month.