Foreign direct investment into China surged by 35.4 percent year on year to 481 billion yuan ($75.2 billion) in the first five months of 2021, official data showed on Saturday.

Foreign investment in the service industry came in at 381.9 billion yuan during the period, up 41.6 percent year on year, the Ministry of Commerce data showed. Foreign investment inflows to the high-tech industry grew by 34.6 percent in the first five months.

In terms of source, investment from countries along the Belt and Road Initiative and Association of Southeast Asian Nations raised by 54.1 percent and 56 percent, respectively, and that from the European Union raised by a year-on-year 16.8 percent.

China's actual use of foreign investment hit a record of nearly 1 trillion yuan in 2020, up 6.2 percent year on year amid a coronavirus-led global recession.