China said on Monday it will boost state reserves of refined fuels, its first official plan to expand beyond its crude reserves, and help cut high inventories held by oil companies.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will focus on renewable fuels during his visit to Beijing this week, hoping to team up with China to develop bio-fuels, the Caijing Magazine has reported.

Lula arrived in Beijing on Monday and will pay a state visit for three days.

German solar companies that have not yet set up US and Chinese production plants are likely to lose out on significant subsidies and will struggle to bring down their production costs to the levels of their Asian peers.

Bangladesh and Russia on Wednesday signed an agreement on peaceful use of nuclear energy enabling Dhaka to launch negotiations with Moscow to set up nuclear power units in Bangladesh.

China is considering investing a more than 3 trillion yuan (US$440 billion) in the renewable energy sector by 2020, an official with the National Energy Administration said on Tuesday.

Bangladesh and Russia might sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday on installation of a nuclear power plant, officials said on Monday.

Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina provisionally approved the draft MoU, officials said last week.

A high-powered Russian delegation is expected to arrive in Dhaka on Tuesday to sign the deal.

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said on Friday he will travel to China this year to promote sales of US clean energy goods as part of the Obama administration's effort to fight global warming.

"This would be a win-win for jobs in the United States, as well as addressing a very serious problem of the planet," Locke told Reuters in an interview.

A bigger role must be found for improving energy efficiency in any new U.N. deal aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a leading China-based project developer said on Thursday.

PRESIDENT OBAMA and the other leaders at the Group of 20 meeting last month vowed to both pursue a

Energy scarcity has become more serious for the energy-deficient growing economies having insufficient resources to combat the environmental pollution, said former HEC chairman Dr Attaur Rehman in his inaugural speech as chief guest at a three-day international conference.