A view of the Lujiazui area, a financial zone, in Shanghai Photo: VCG

In the first 10 months of 2021, foreign direct investment (FDI) in actual use in China reached 943.15 billion yuan ($142 billion), an increase of 17.8 percent year-on-year. The annual growth rate reached 23.4 percent in US dollar terms, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

FDI used in the services sector rose 20.3 percent year-on-year to 752.52 billion yuan, and the invested used in high-tech industries increased by 23.7 percent. In the latter category, foreign capital used in high-tech services grew 27.9 percent, while it expanded 10 percent in high-tech manufacturing.

And, actual investment from countries and regions which join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increased by 30.7 percent and that from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rose by 29.5 percent.

The amount of foreign capital actually used is evidence of the increasingly close economic and trade relations between China and members of the BRI and ASEAN, analysts say.

From January to October, trade between China and BRI economies stood at 9.3 trillion yuan, up 23 percent on a yearly basis. As China's biggest trade partner, ASEAN countries saw total trade with China rise to 4.55 trillion yuan, up 20.4 percent and accounting for 14.4 percent of China's aggregate foreign trade volume, according to data from Chinese customs.

China also accounted for more than 10 percent of global FDI during the first half of 2021. FDI nationwide reached $90.96 billion calculated in US dollar terms, up 33.9 percent year-on-year, while global FDI flows arrived at an estimated $852 billion, according to UNCTAD's Investment Trends Monitor which was released on October 18.

Global Times