PARIS - TotalEnergies and China's SINOPEC pledged to strengthen their cooperation in low-carbon energy in a strategic cooperation agreement the companies signed during the Chinese President's state visit to France.

The two companies plan to join forces on R&D on biofuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage technologies in particular, TotalEnergies said in a press release.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The cooperation between two of the world's largest energy companies indicates energy transition projects might be a rare realm of increased international cooperation amid current tensions between China and Western countries.

KEY QUOTE

Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies: "This strategic cooperation agreement reflects our common desire to combine our multi-energy expertise to meet growing global demand while building tomorrow's decarbonised energy system."

CONTEXT

TotalEnergies and SINOPEC have already been working together in Angola and Brazil on exploration projects. They also recently joined forces to develop a production unit for so-called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in China.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)