China recorded an increase in newly established foreign-invested enterprises and robust growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) in high-tech industries in the first seven months of 2026, despite a decline in overall inflows. During the period, 37,711 new foreign-invested enterprises were set up, up 4.4% year-on-year, while FDI in actual use came in at CNY438.33 billion, down 6.2% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. By sector, manufacturing attracted CNY109.43 billion in FDI, while the service sector drew CNY319.95 billion. Despite the overall drop, FDI in high-tech industries surged 32.7% to CNY182.31 billion, accounting for 41.6% of the national total, a rise of 12.2 percentage points from a year ago.
Specifically, FDI in R&D and design services, services for the commercialization of sci-tech achievements, and electronic and telecommunications equipment manufacturing jumped 72.1%, 62.2% and 39.9%, respectively. During the same period, actual investment from Saudi Arabia, France and the Republic of Korea grew by 343.7%, 36.1% and 15.8%, respectively, with investment via free ports included in the calculations.
In June, China unveiled a 15-measure action plan to stabilize and optimize foreign investment utilization, focusing on expanding market access, streamlining investment procedures, boosting investment promotion, strengthening services and safeguards for foreign investors, and improving foreign capital management. A new version of the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment, which took effect on February 1 this year, aims to steer more foreign capital into advanced manufacturing, modern services, high-tech industries, energy conservation and environmental protection, as well as into the central, western and northeastern regions of the country, the Global Times reports.
On the trade front, China’s trade surplus expanded with all but three EU members in July, so the trade balances of 24 European Union member states are still moving in what Brussels considers to be the wrong direction. China’s surplus with Sweden quadrupled, while for Malta it rose by 166.6%. For Romania it expanded 94.4%, and for Finland 93.7%. For the bloc’s biggest economies, Germany’s deficit shot up 86.5% compared to July 2025, Poland’s was up 31.9%, the Netherlands rose 14.5%, Spain by 12.4% and France by 4.2%. Following a meeting between the sides’ respective trade chiefs at the end of June, Brussels set a three-month deadline for a rebalancing of trade ties, amid fears that cheap Chinese imports are helping to de-industrialise swathes of the European manufacturing economy, the South China Morning Post reports.
