FDI grows steadily amid reform drive

Foreign direct investment in China grew steadily in the first 10 months of the year amid sweeping government reforms that are expected to reshape the world's second-largest economy.

FDI was up 5.77 percent year-on-year at $97.03 billion during the period, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.

October marked the ninth straight monthly increase in FDI, which rose 1.24 percent to $8.42 billion, compared with 4.88 percent in September and just 0.62 percent in August.

Investment from 10 Asian economies rose 7.18 percent to $83.63 billion, while that from the United States increased 12.41 percent to $3.04 billion.

European Union-sourced FDI went up 22.26 percent to $6.4 billion, said the ministry.

"China's FDI inflows were, on the whole, steady in the first 10 months. The country's economic growth, though slowing, is still outstanding in the world and retained the interest of global investors," said Wang Jun, an expert at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

"As the new leadership deepens economic reforms, including loosening investment access to the Chinese market, China will retain strong attractiveness to global investment over quite a long term. Overall, I'm optimistic, and I don't worry about FDI inflows," Wang said.

He added that as traditional industries lose their competitiveness, high-end sectors - including research and development, design and services - will become more attractive to global investors, which is in line with the government's efforts to improve the quality and structure of FDI.