Technology and innovation are playing a growing role in bolstering China’s appeal among foreign investors, while Chinese enterprises are accelerating their footprint overseas in green and clean-tech industries, experts and business leaders said at a transnational investment conference during the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade in Xiamen, Fujian province. The event featured the release of the Statistical Bulletin of FDI in China 2026 and the Chinese edition of the 2026 World Investment Report. Global FDI rose 6% to USD1.6 trillion in 2025, but growth remained highly concentrated across specific destinations and industries, said Li Nan, Director of the Division on Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD. Strategic industries, including artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductors, critical minerals, and energy transition technologies and services, accounted for 44% of global greenfield investment project value in 2025, up from 16% in 2020, Li said, adding that China remains a major destination and source of international investment, with foreign investment increasingly directed toward advanced manufacturing, technological innovation and modern services.
The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said China’s utilized foreign investment fell 6.2% year-on-year to CNY438.33 billion in the first seven months. However, inflows into high-tech industries rose 32.7% to CNY182.31 billion, accounting for 41.6% of the total. The number of new foreign-invested enterprises increased by 4.4% year-on-year. Pan Yuanyuan, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said the value of foreign investment extends beyond capital injections to research and development (R&D), technology, sales networks and management expertise.
Wu Huimin, Executive Dean of the China International Capital Corp Global Institute, said companies should bring innovation capabilities and management experience gained overseas back to China to help prevent industrial hollowing-out and strengthen the domestic foundations of outward investment, the China Daily reports.
