Beijing  - Chinese President Hu Jintao and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pledged to strengthen bilateral ties in energy, trade, and science and technology, local media reported Wednesday.

Chavez arrived in Beijing Tuesday night for a two-day which is expected to focus heavily on oil.

"With the complicated international circumstances, both countries are in a critical phase. Enhancing practical cooperation between the two sides is not only good in dealing with the global economic crisis, but also for the long-term development of the bilateral relationship," Hu said.

Chavez said he believes there has been a shift in the relationships between global powers.

"Currently there are some changes in the global order. The economic crisis is spreading. China has played an important role in combating the crisis. Venezuela is willing to enhance cooperation with China to cope with the economic crisis," he said.

Venezuela is China's fourth-largest provider of oil, and there are plans to increase exports from 330,000 to 1 million barrels a day by 2015.

Bilateral trade has reached 9.85 billion dollars, a year-on-year increase of 68.2 percent, according to Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.

"China is willing to work jointly with Venezuela to implement the agreements reached by two sides and continue to deepen cooperation in energy and high-tech technology," Hu said.(dpa)