The increase of actual use of foreign investment in China's western regions exceeded the nation's average by 128 percentage points in the first two months this year, an official from the Ministry of Commerce says.

During the first two months, the western regions' actual use of foreign investment was $1.393 billion, more than double over the same period of 2007. A total of 254 foreign companies were approved to invest in the region, said Ji Xiaofeng, a ministry official in charge of foreign investment management at the 12th Investment & Trade Forum for Cooperation between East and West China.

Ji attributed the increase to the nation's push for foreign investment in the middle and western regions.