"China has agreed to purchase four new nuclear reactors for the Westinghouse Electric Company," US Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said in a statement released by the US embassy in China.

"This represents a multibillion dollar commitment by the Chinese that should create some 5,500 jobs in the United States."

The American firm was taken over by Japanese company Toshiba at the beginning of the year.

Beijing chose the "third generation" Westinghouse reactors over Areva's for technological reasons, Chinese officials said in a statement.

The long-running tender process was launched in September 2004.

The contract will lead to the construction of four reactors, divided between Sanmen, in Zhejiang province, and Yangjiang, in Guangdong, and is part of the Chinese government's drive to increase its nuclear energy production.

"This is an exciting day for the US nuclear industry," Bodman was quoted as saying in the statement, after signing a protocol agreement in the Chinese capital with Ma Kai, minister in charge of the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC), the major planning body in China.

Bodman, who had taken part in Friday and Saturday's "strategic economic dialogue" between China and the US, said the agreement showed what could be achieved between the two countries.

"It is an example that if we work together we can advance not only our trade relations but also our common goal of energy security," he added after joining the energy ministers of China, India, Japan and South Korea at a meeting in Beijing.

Reports early this year said Areva would not get the deal, something the company denied, insisting they were "on course" to secure the contract.

France's nuclear industry has long been engaged in supplying reactors to China, with four of the nation's 11 nuclear reactors currently operating being French-made.

French President Jacques Chirac used an official visit to China in October to push the Areva deal, "faced with a (Westinghouse) project that only exists on paper, from people who have not built anything for a long time". Areva has been operating in China for the past 26 years.

Chirac said there was "a political dimension (in the case) and also a question of balanced trade on the foreign side that is not in our favor", referring to a ballooning US trade deficit with China.

During trade talks Thursday and Friday, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson made a new appeal to his Chinese partners for "tangible results" in settling their disputes, warning of a rising tide of protectionism in the United States.

The US trade deficit with China has hit a record 240 billion dollars this year.

Bodman said: "(This deal) will help our balance of payments -- it's a multibillion dollar transaction."

In a statement Saturday, the US Commerce Secretary Carlas Guttierrez said the agreement was "an important victory, both for Sino-American relations and Westinghouse workers.

"This agreement reinforces once again the economic relations the United States has with its second-biggest trade partner and shows China taking a big step in opening new markets to American services and products."

Ma, from the SDRC, said: "This project of cooperation will certainly play a very important role in enhancing the cooperative partnership between China and the US.

"Frankly speaking, this is only the start. We still need hard work to realize reliable, safe nuclear power plants."