China has issued rules on the approval procedures for Chinese investment abroad, the press office of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Monday.

The regulation clarified the procedures and documents required for such authorization and confirmed that the MOC will utilize electronic governance measures to simplify the progress and facilitate Chinese overseas investment.

The rules help reform the investment mechanism to be market- oriented and will facilitate Chinese investment abroad, said an official with the MOC, who declined to be named.

The rules will also serve to create sound condition for management on Chinese overseas investment, he said.

Chinese investment abroad totaled at 3.32 billion US dollars in 2003, scattering in over 160 countries and regions, according to the MOC. Chinese government has been encouraging enterprises to " go abroad" in recent years.