China's high-tech industries attract billions in foreign investment

China's high-tech industries attracted 423.34 billion yuan ($54.84 billion) of foreign direct investment in 2023, accounting for 37.3 percent of the country's total utilized FDI, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

The ministry, in an online statement, noted that this represents a 1.2 percentage point increase compared to 2022, setting a new historical record.

FDI in China, in terms of actual use, experienced an 8 percent year-on-year decline to 1.13 trillion yuan in 2023, yet it remained at a historically elevated level, according to the commerce ministry.

In the meantime, China saw the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises reach 53,766, a year-on-year increase of 39.7 percent.

FDI into China's manufacturing industry declined by 1.8 percent year-on-year to 317.92 billion yuan in 2023, while that of high-tech manufacturing grew by 6.5 percent on a yearly basis.

Last year, FDI from France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Australia into China jumped by 84.1 percent, 81 percent, 31.5 percent, 21.4 percent and 17.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.