STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc will probably double its China portfolio within the next three to four years. The company, which opened 25 hotels in China last year, plans to add another 20 hotels by the end of this year.

"We have an operating portfolio of 120 hotels spanning eight distinctive brands, with another 105 secured in the pipeline," Qian Jin, president of Starwood China, said at the Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu.

"Within a year or two, we will unveil the first Element brand hotel in the country, and by then we will have all of our nine brands present here," he said.

The first Element hotel, a mid-range, extended-stay hotel with an environmentally friendly focus, will likely open in Suzhou in Jiangsu Province in 2014 or 2015, he said.

The company, which has almost 1,200 hotels worldwide, has targeted major tourist destinations, provincial capitals and smaller scenic cities for its growth in China over the next few years, with Sheraton its most prevalent brand.

China is Starwood's largest market outside the United States.