It is reported that General Electric had signed a preliminary pact with China's largest coal company Shenhua Group to develop clean coal technology in the Asian giant.

The US firm said in a statement that General Electric hopes to finalize the deal with Shenhua in the first half of 2010, subject to the negotiation of agreements and obtaining approvals.

Mr Steve Bolze CEO of GE Power and Water said without releasing financial details of the agreement that "Each business would contribute existing technology, operational and service expertise to create a comprehensive gasification and cleaner coal technology and service provider in China."

The statement said the joint venture with Shenhua was aimed at improving the cost and performance of commercial scale gasification and integrated gasification combined cycle solutions.

(Sourced from www.chinamining.org)