China has stable FDI disbursement growth in January-May

World
Europe

China’s use of foreign direct investment (FDI) has continued to maintain steady growth at 3.6 percent year-on-year from January to May, reflecting the stability of the economy, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).

About 52.7 billion US dollars of FDI has been used in the first five months of this year, and around 24,000 foreign-invested enterprises have been newly established in the country during the same period, increasing 97.6 percent year-on-year.

“We will continue to work hard to expand openness and continuously improve the investment environment, so that China will continue to be a hot spot for attracting foreign investment and promoting mutual benefits and win-win results,” said Wang Shouwen, vice minister of MOFCOM.

MOFCOM’s data showed there were roughly 5,000 newly established foreign-invested enterprises in May, up 106.5 percent year-on-year. And about 9.1 billion US dollars of FDI has been used last month, up 11.7 percent year-on-year.

Falling FDI disbursement in manufacturing has been reversed, and the use of FDI in the central and western regions as well as the pilot free trade zones has continued to grow. Meanwhile, developed economies such as the UK and the US have added their investment significantly.

As the amount of cross-border investment in the world declined, China’s use of FDI in 2017 still achieved a two-percent increase, reaching 136 billion US dollars, and ranking second after the US. China's openness is increasing with growing confidence in foreign investment.

According to the latest survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, 74 percent of the surveyed member companies will increase their investment in China in 2018, and the proportion will continue to increase.

About 55 percent of EU enterprises are optimistic about China's future development prospects, according to a 2017 survey conducted by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. That number is 11 percentage points higher than 2016.