HARBIN - Tests will start in December on a mammoth Sino-Russia power line, expected to accommodate China's surging demands for energy, according to the project's builder.

The electricity power transmission project is China's biggest cross-border power line, which can bring 4.3 billion kilowatts of electricity annually from Russia, said a senior executive with State Grid Corporation of China on Tuesday.

He added that companies from China and Russia are currently engaged in coordinating operations and negotiating prices.

Energy cooperation with Russia is significant to alleviate China's energy pressure, said Liu Tienan, head of National Energy Administration, during his inspection tour to a construction site of the power line in July.

The project began in July 2007 but stalled several times during its construction, according to the State Grid Corporation of China.

The electricity power line runs from the state of Amur in Russia's Far East to Heilongjiang, China's northernmost province. It remained intact after an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted Russia's Far East on October 14, sources said.

In addition to the two sides' constant pledges to bolster oil supply, experts believe China and Russia will also ramp up cooperation on electricity, coal, and new energy.