BEIJING (Reuters) - Cheniere Energy Inc (>> Cheniere Energy, Inc.), owner of the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in the United States, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China National Petroleum Corp [CNPET.UL] for long-term LNG sales and purchase cooperation, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

The agreement was made as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China this week.

Also, Westinghouse Electric Co. signed contracts with China's State Nuclear Power Technology Co. to build six AP1000 nuclear power plants in China in the coming years, the statement said.

(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Josephine Mason; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)