China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Tuesday it has signed an agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) under which the AFD will provide 120 million euros in loans to support energy-efficiency and emissions cuts projects in China.

The credit loans would be operated in China through three Chinese commercial banks -- the Hua Xia Bank, the China Merchants Bank and the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, said a statement posted on the MOF's official website.

The three banks would use the loans to mainly support small and medium-sized companies in energy-saving and emissions-cutting projects, said the statement.

The loans would help the three banks further explore their "green credit" businesses, and offer more support to small and medium-sized enterprises for environment protection efforts.

A total of 11 loan agreements worth 670 million euros have been signed between the MOF and the AFD since the two sides established cooperative ties in October 2004. Loans mainly went to transport, energy, infrastructure building, energy-saving and emissions-cutting projects.

(Xinhua News Agency March 17, 2010)