A senior executive of China's largest oil and gas producer who died in December was honored for his contribution to the country's oil exploration, the national trade union said.

The all All-China Federation of Trade Unions announced Saturday to award Sun Bo, the former vice president of China National Petroleum Corporation, the national labor medal and called on workers across the nation to learn from Sun and work hard to contribute to the building of a moderately prosperous society.

Sun committed himself to China's overseas oil projects for most of his career before he died aged 52 from a sudden cerebral hemorrhage in December.