Shandong, a dynamic province on China's eastern seaboard, hopes to attract 11 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment this year and orient it towards useful sectors.

An official from the provincial bureau of foreign trade and economic cooperation said they would soon publish a list of selected sectors where overseas investment is welcome while continuing to dissuade foreign capital from investing in ventures that cause pollution or consume too much energy.

Overseas investors will be encouraged to invest in the high-tech sector, in equipment manufacturing, environmental protection and new energy development, as well as modern services and modern farming, said the official.

The province approved 4,030 new overseas-financed ventures last year, and had an inflow of 10 billion U.S. dollars of overseas investment, up 11.5 percent from a year ago.

About 2.4 million people are employed by overseas ventures across the province.