Adviser says exploration overseas follows regulations

China's exploration for energy and other natural resources overseas is conducted in strict adherence to international trade rules and is good for the world because it contributes to the supply of natural resources, said Zhang Guobao, chairman of the Advisory Board of the National Energy Commission.

The amount of money China invests in foreign energy resources has been increasing in recent years amid the country's economic growth, Zhang said at an energy forum that was taking place as part of the Boao Forum for Asia. Even so, it has done far less in that way than its Western counterparts, which started on similar endeavors more than a century ago, he said.