China will work to allure more investment from overseas to boost its recycling economy and help develop a pollutant-free new energy, a senior environmental-protection official said in Beijing Wednesday.

"China will introduce a diversified investment mechanism to absorb foreign investment as governmental input is inadequate," Deputy Director General Pan Yue of the State Environmental Protection Administration said at the Fortune Global Forum, which ended Wednesday afternoon.

So far, the financial input of the Chinese government on environmental protection is only one percent of the country's total gross domestic output. Experts hold that the proportion should be at least 1.5 percent in order to improve the present situation.

Giving a long list of multinationals engaged in China's environmental protection business, Pan encouraged foreign companies to invest in this sector that took in a total revenue of 250 billion yuan last year, about 30.23 billion US dollars.

"China's environmental protection sector is predicted to generate revenue of 300 billion yuan (36.28 billion US dollars) this year. By 2010, the number is expected to hit 500 billion yuan (60.46 billion US dollars), which will present an excellent opportunity for foreign companies with advanced technology," he said.

As many experts predict that coal will continue to be China's dominant energy source for the next 10 to 20 years, Pan said the Chinese government will not pinch pennies to develop a pollutant-free substitute energy.

The Chinese government will also take a series of substantial measures including pricing, taxation and fiscal polices to make better use of private capital and to facilitate the utilization of new energy, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2005)