Premier Zhu Rongji said on March 15 that businesspeople from overseas are welcome to invest in the west-east gas pipeline that runs through eight provinces and cities with a total length of 4,200 kilometers from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China to eastern Shanghai.

     Overseas investors can be allowed to have controlling shares in and manage the project, which is scheduled to be completed within two years, Zhu said, adding that west China will be granted the same open preferential policies as was east China.

     Overseas securities companies, banks, and insurance firms are also encouraged to take part in developing China's west, the premier said.

     He made the remark here this afternoon at a press conference held shortly after the 3rd Session of the Ninth National People's Congress concluded.

     The central government has begun to put large amounts of money into west China in a bid to improve infrastructure and eco- environment. "Now we have sufficient supply of grain, so we have asked farmers to return farmland to forests, pastures and lakes, and in so doing can we create a beautiful ecological environment and business environment for overseas investment, in west China," he said.

     Development of traditional industries in east China have been saturated, while developing west China has come to a critical stage, he said, adding that developing the western region is a long-term arduous task to require the hard work of one generation, two generations, or several generations.

     Premier Zhu Rongji said that the large-scale development of the country's central and western regions is a major policy decision made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee for the new century in accordance with the late leader Deng Xiaoping's strategy for China's modernization drive, which encompasses the development of both the coastal and interior areas.

     Western China including nine provinces and autonomous regions and one municipality, with a total area of 5.4 million square kilometers and a population of 285 million, accounting for 56 percent and 23 percent respectively of the national total.