The country is stepping up its activities in the Antarctic so that it can benefit more from the region's natural resources, a senior executive has revealed.

The nation's largest State-owned agricultural development enterprise plans to expand its fishing operations, and will focus on the small crustaceans known as krill.

"We will increase our investment in the Antarctic area in terms of krill fishing," said Liu Shenli, chairman of the China National Agricultural Development Group and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.