SHANGHAI, Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Bristol

Myers Squibb ( BMY ) said on Tuesday it has signed an agreement

to sell its 60% ownership stake in a pharmaceutical joint

venture in China.

"As part of our long-term strategy, we continue to align our

resources to support evolving business needs across our global

network," a spokesperson for the company said in an emailed

response to Reuters' queries about a local media report.

The spokesperson said Bristol Myers was "committed to

supporting all impacted employees" and was "grateful for their

contributions", but said it does not comment on transaction

details, citing policy.

Established in 1982, the Sino-American Shanghai Squibb

Pharmaceuticals Limited (SASS) joint venture was the first

Sino-U.S. pharmaceutical joint venture in the country.

A manufacturing facility in Shanghai, part of the venture,

was one of China's first modern pharmaceutical manufacturing

bases and was key to bringing new technology expertise to China,

Bristol Myers said in its 2010 annual report.

The venture has supplied a variety of medicines including

metformin and paracetamol, research papers reviewed by Reuters

showed.

Bristol Myers would be the latest drugmaker planning to sell

off some Chinese assets following supply chain disruptions,

China's economic slowdown and price cuts to get state insurance

listing.

Its agreement follows similar actions by foreign firms

including the Swiss Group Sandoz and Belgium's UCB

.