Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 6.5 percent year on year to 683.21 billion yuan (96.27 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of this year, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said Thursday.

In U.S. dollar terms, FDI inflow grew 2.9 percent year on year to 100.78 billion U.S. dollars during the period, the ministry said.

FDI in September alone reached 79.18 billion yuan, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier.

During the past nine months, a total of 30,871 new overseas-funded enterprises were established.

Overseas investment in high-tech industries surged 39.8 percent year on year to 203.8 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the total FDI.

During the period, the eastern and western China as well as pilot free trade zones saw a steady increase in FDI inflows, with the growth rate of the western regions hitting 10.8 percent.

Moreover, FDI from the countries along the Belt and Road and ASEAN grew by 14.9 percent and 17.5 percent, respectively.

Overseas investment from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and Japan expanded 8.7 percent, 51.4 percent, 27.8 percent, 28.7 percent, and 4 percent in the first nine months, respectively.

As for China-U.S. trade talks, the ministry said that both sides held "frank, efficient and constructive discussions" on the economic and trade issues of common concern and made "substantial progress," adding that to meet domestic needs, Chinese companies have been importing products from the U.S. in accordance with the principle of marketization.