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China will draw on experience of foreign countries in formulating policies for large-scale development of its western regions, a government official said at a press conference on Mar.8 in Beijing.

"We will take the practices of the United States, Canada, Japan and Italy as a reference when drafting the overall western development program, said Li Zibin, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group under the State Council for the Development of the Western Regions.

"We'll draw on their successful experience to formulate policies geared to the actual conditions of the circumstances in China's western regions and the overall situation of China," said Li.

China has stated it would balance ecological environment with economic growth in the western development drive.

More than 500 billion yuan (60.24 billion US dollars) will be invested in four areas to improve the ecological environment in the western regions, including protection of natural forests, returning farmland to forests, desertification control and closing pastures for the renewal of grassland.

Energy production is high on the agenda of the western development. Construction of two landmark projects, the west-to-east electricity transmission project and the west-to-east natural gas pipeline, have already begun.

It is also learnt at the press conference that in the development of the western regions, domestic private investors are given the same access as foreign investors.