CHINA will open up more sectors for multinational companies to invest in and also encourage them to explore the nation's inland west, an official from the Ministry of Commerce said.

The number of sectors in which foreign investment is encouraged or permitted will be expanded while sectors that are restricted and out of bounds to foreign investors will be cut, said Liu Yajun, director of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration in the ministry.

China is revising its foreign investment list to streamline approval process and grant local governments more authority in approving projects.

Liu, speaking at a European Union Chamber of Commerce in China conference yesterday, said China will encourage foreign investment in industries such as energy conservation and environmental protection, and in the western regions of the country.

China's policy of opening up won't change but foreign investments in the country should be mutually beneficial, Liu said at the conference at the World Expo in Shanghai.