XI'AN - Environmental industries are growing fast in China as the government attaches great importance to environmental protection, managers and analysts said.

At an environment services industry expo in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, companies exhumed great confidence in the industry.

Li Maolin, vice-president of Guandong Dongri Environmental Protection Co Ltd, said the company had strong sales in recent years after its founding in 2003.

"Previously we mainly sold water treatment facilities for factories and cities, now as the public environmental awareness grows, there is a great market potential for the general use of these facilities," he said.

Last year, the company sold 80 million yuan (about $12 million) worth of waste water treatment facilities to rural households. This year sales volume is expected to exceed 100 million yuan, he said.

"If the industrial market is red sea, the market for general users is blue sea, full of market potential," he said.

Qingdao Dongyang Technology Co Ltd also eyes the potential for garbage processing equipment in the vast countryside, said sales manager Yang Tao.

"We have sold many garbage processing facilities to Henan province. I expect strong growth for our sales in the immediate future," he said.

Analysts said investment in the environmental industry during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, from 2016 to 2020, is expected to reach 17 trillion yuan. Annual growth rate will reach 20 percent.

"The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has set new target for environmental protection. China's environmental protection is really expanding and going deep," said Liu Qifeng, deputy head of the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry.