BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) on Friday announced a new joint venture to produce ethylene vinyl acetate resins (EVA) with DuPont Packaging and Industrial Polymers.

Production of EVA, used in products such as packaging materials, adhesives, footwear and clothing, is due to begin in late 2008 at a new plant to be built at the existing facility of Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company in Beijing.

The venture would be 55 percent owned by Sinopec and 45 percent owned by DuPont, with an annual production capacity of about 60,000 tones.

The new facility will help meet the fast growing demand for EVA products in China, said Sinopec.

Listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai, Sinopec is the largest oil refiner in China.