A view of the Hainan Free Trade Zone in October Photo: VCG

China's 21 free trade experimental zones have received 100.88 billion yuan ($15.6 billion) in overseas investment in the first half of 2021, accounting for nearly 17 percent of all foreign capital that flowed into China, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday.

The amount of capital used and new overseas investment companies established in Hainan free trade zone surged 5.7 times and 3.9 times during the recorded period, MOFCOM said. 

More than 23,000 foreign foreign-funded enterprises were newly established across the country, a year-on-year increase of 47.9 percent with the cumulative number of foreign establishments exceeded 1.06 million. The actual use of foreign investment in manufacturing increased by 9.9 percent, marking the highest growth rate in the same period in the past 10 years, and foreign investment used in the service sector increased by 33.4 percent. 

The main sources of investment have grown steadily from foreign countries and regions. Overseas investment came from countries along Belt and Road Initiative, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the EU increased by 49.6 percent, 50.7 percent, and 10.3 percent respectively, and the actual investment from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Singapore, South Korea, and Germany increased by 35.5 percent, 53.6 percent, 29.9 percent, and 32.4 percent respectively. 

Global Times