MOSCOW (AFP) -- Rosneft, Russia's second-largest oil producer, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have created a joint venture to produce and sell hydrocarbons, Rosneft said Tuesday.

"The new joint venture company was established primarily to conduct exploration work in Russia and obtain licenses for various types of subsoil resource use," Rosneft said in a statement.

Sergei Bogdanchikov, CEO of state-controlled Rosneft, and Chen Geng, chairman of CNPC, a state-owned firm that is also China's top producer, signed a deal that will give Rosneft a 51 percent stake, the statement added.

The new joint venture will be called Vostok Energy. Three of the company's five directors will be from Rosneft and two from CNPC, Rosneft said.

CNPC bought 500 million dollars worth of shares in Rosneft when the Russian company conducted a partial flotation on the London stock exchange in July in one of the biggest initial public offers (IPOs) ever.