MOFCOM spokesperson He Yadong at a press conference on December 28, 2023 Photo: Tao Mingyang/GT

China's inbound foreign investment from January to November in 2023 was still at historic high amid fluctuation, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday, vowing to further promote high-quality opening-up to attract foreign investment.

He Yadong, a MOFCOM spokesperson, made the remarks during a regular press conference held on Thursday in response to the fluctuation of China's inbound foreign investment in 2023 hyped by foreign media, noting that the situation was caused by various reasons and should be considered from multiple point of views.

"From 2019 to 2021, China's inbound foreign investment set new records for three consecutive years. During the first 11 months of 2022, China's foreign direct investment (FDI) reached 1.16 trillion ($164.278 billion) yuan, the highest level for any comparable period in history," He said. 

Given this high base in 2022, it was normal to see fluctuation in inbound foreign investment from January to November this year, said He, noting that the 1.04 trillion yuan of inbound foreign investment during the period was still at historic levels. 

In terms of external environment, He cited data from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and stated that the global FDI fell by 12.4 percent in 2022 and kept declining in 2023.

However, from January to November this year, the number of newly established foreign investment-backed enterprises in China reached 48,000, jumping by 36.2 percent year-on-year, reflecting strong momentum for foreign investment to Chinese market, he noted.

With the upgrade of foreign investment structure, China's high technology sector attracted 386.65 billion yuan of foreign investment from January to November this year, accounting for 37.2 percent of total inbound foreign investment volume, He noted.

"In general, China's economic growth has maintained steady momentum and kept consolidating, and the nation will further promote high-quality opening-up. The attractiveness of Chinese market will further improve as the effects of policies rolled out earlier gradually emerge," He stated.