China and Russia have both pledged to cooperate closely to handle the pollution of the Songhua River in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao Thursday.

Liu said China was very concerned about possible hazards to Russia and has informed its neighbor several times of the pollution.

On the morning of Nov. 24, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) elaborated the details of the pollution to the Russian embassy in China, including various test results.

Zhang Lijun, deputy director general of SEPA said China would keep Russia informed at all times about the monitoring results of the polluted stretches of Songhua River.

The two countries are setting concrete arrangements to open a hot line for better contact and communication over the water problem.

China is now making every effort to strengthen the monitoring and control of water quality of the Songhua River with the hope of minimizing the possible hazards, Liu said.

The Songhua River, a tributary of the Heilongjiang River which is called the Amur when it crosses the border, is contaminated by benzene due to a massive petrochemical plant explosion on November 13.

Source: Xinhua