Beijing, Dec 30 (IANS) China will open more sectors like alternative energy, biotechnology and high-end equipment manufacturing to foreign investors, the government announced Thursday.

According to a list jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the commerce ministry, the sectors also include information technology, advanced materials and alternative car fuel.

The new guidelines will take effect Jan 30, 2012, reports Xinhua.

China will cut down restrictions on foreign investment, while lifting caps on the proportion of foreign capital in some sectors.

The government will continue to welcome foreign investors to high-end manufacturing and modern service industries. It will also encourage investments in recycling industries.

However, it has decided to withdraw support for foreign capital in auto manufacturing in order to boost development of the domestic auto industry.

It will also decline foreign investment in the sectors of polycrystalline silicon and coal chemical due to concerns of industrial overcapacity and repeated construction.

In the first 11 months of this year, China attracted about $103 billion of foreign direct investment, up about 13 percent from a year earlier.

During the same period, the country approved the setting up of 25,086 foreign-invested companies, up 3.23 percent year on year.