General Electric, China's Silk Road Fund to launch energy investment platform

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) and a Chinese state fund set up for the Belt and Road trade initiative plan to jointly establish an energy infrastructure investment platform, China's government said.

The announcement came on the sidelines of a state visit to Beijing by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been looking to rev up U.S.-China trade.

The Silk Road Fund and GE Energy Financial Services signed a "cooperation" deal to set up the platform in Beijing, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement dated Thursday and seen by Reuters on Friday.

"The two sides will jointly invest in electric power grids, new energy and oil and gas, in countries and regions along the Belt and Road," SAFE said.

"The cooperation between the Silk Road Fund and GE will not only boost cooperation between high-end manufacturing industries from China and the U.S., but also promote economic and trade development in the regions where of investment," SAFE added.

The step was part of a flurry of deals between GE and Chinese companies. These included an engine and repair deal for GEnx-1B engines from Juneyao Airlines Co Ltd worth $1.4 billion at list prices, and another $1.1 billion order for 80 Leap-1B engines to power 40 Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft from ICBC Leasing, the leasing arm of state bank Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd .

The Silk Road Fund was set up at the end of 2014 and is backed by China's foreign exchange reserves, China Investment Corp, the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank.

(This story has been refiled to clarify that government statement was dated Thursday)

(Reporting by Engen Tham; Editing by Joseph Radford)