Poster: Overseas-invested enterprises top 530,000 in China

The number of overseas-invested enterprises in China has risen for three consecutive years to surpass 530,000, with total accumulated foreign direct investment (FDI) exceeding 3.6 trillion U.S. dollars, data released by the Ministry of Commerce showed on May 23, 2026.

The data underscores sustained confidence among overseas investors in the Chinese market. In 2025, more than 8,000 overseas enterprises increased their investment in China, rising over 10 percent year on year, while more than 3,000 overseas firms increased their investment in the first four months of 2026.

During the January-April period, 20,113 new overseas-invested firms were established across the country, up 6.8 percent year on year. The actual use of FDI totaled 287.69 billion yuan (about 42 billion U.S. dollars) during the same period, down 10.3 percent from the previous year.

High-tech industries bucked the overall trend, attracting 116.33 billion yuan in foreign investment, a surge of 20.3 percent year on year, and accounting for 40.4 percent of the national total.

Investment from Luxembourg, Switzerland, France and the United States into the Chinese mainland increased by 110.3 percent, 60.8 percent, 58.3 percent and 24.5 percent year on year, respectively, according to the data.