The environmental authorities are entitled to suspend the approval of new projects in a city or a province where heavy metal pollution cases are reported, said China's Environmental Protection Minister Zhou Shengxian on Tuesday.

Zhou made the remarks at a national environmental protection conference held in Harbin, capital of northeast Heilongjiang Province, after a series of lead poisoning cases were reported in several provinces including Zhejiang, Guangdong, Anhui, Yunnan, Hubei and Hunan.

"The central government has showed great determination to tackle heavy metal pollution. We have made a decision that wherever it happens, we will suspend approving new projects and then launch investigations," said Zhou.

China has decided to start a special campaign to crack down on heavy metal pollution this year, according to environmental authorities.