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BEIJING, Jan. 5-- China's green sector is attracting growing investment from enterprises as the country strives to balance economic development and environmental protection. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed investment in the environmental sector surged 42 percent year on year in the first 11 months of 2018, up 5.3 percentage points from the January-October period. China National Machinery Industry Corporation Ltd. (Sinomach), a state-owned machinery conglomerate, is targeting green areas such as the production of equipment related with environmental protection and core components of new energy vehicles (NEVs), according to Sinomach general manager Zhang Xiaolun. "I believe green manufacturing will accelerate the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, improve its core competency and facilitate its sustainable development," he told a recent forum. Energy enterprises are also on the move. As China begins exploiting its abundant geothermal resources and clean and sustainable energy, Sinopec Green Energy Geothermal Development Co., Ltd. is expanding its services in the country's urban and rural areas. The company now provides geothermal heating for an area of around 50 square km, and it aims to increase the area by 100 square km by 2023, according to Chen Menghui, deputy general manager of the company. "Local governments are very willing to cooperate with us, given the mounting pressure of environmental protection," Chen said, noting that Hebei Province, which neighbors the country's capital Beijing and faces a heavy task in reducing air pollution, is currently the company's biggest market. | 
