(Yicai) Feb. 20 -- China's foreign direct investment continued to fall last month, according to the latest official data. However, the decline was much smaller than last year.

China's FDI in actual use totaled CNY97.6 billion (USD13.4 billion) in January, down 13.4 percent from a year earlier but up 27.5 percent from December, according to data released yesterday by the Ministry of Commerce.

Last year, China's FDI in actual use plunged 27.1 percent to CNY826.2 billion (USD113.4 billion) from the previous year, according to data previously released by the Ministry of Finance.

The decline in China's actual use of FDI last month shrank compared with the same period last year, but the downward pressure persists because of the complex external environment, Ling Ji, vice minister of finance, said at a press conference today.

Cross-border investment has not yet bottomed out due to the slow global economic recovery, especially in developed countries, Ling noted. Moreover, geopolitical conflicts have intensified, and unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, posing challenges to China's ability to attract foreign investments, he added.

The ability of sectors such as automobile manufacturing, mechanical manufacturing, and apparel to attract funds has diminished, Ling said. However, the fundamentals supporting China's long-term economic stability, including the massive scale of the domestic market and complete and efficient industrial and supply chains, remain unchanged, ensuring favorable conditions for foreign capital to invest in China.

There were some positive notes to January's FDI data. For example, FDI in the high-tech manufacturing sector totaled CNY12.2 billion last month, accounting for 12.5 percent of the total, up from 11.7 percent last year. FDI from the Netherlands, South Korea, and the United Kingdom soared 76 percent, 104 percent, and 324 percent, respectively.

In addition, foreign enterprises' confidence in the Chinese market remains upbeat.

According to a report published by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, nearly 70 percent of the AmCham China members engaged in the consumption industry plan to maintain or increase investments in China this year.

A poll from the German Chamber of Commerce in China showed that over 92 percent of the surveyed firms intend to continue operations in China, with more than half planning to hike investments in the next two years.

Editor: Futura Costaglione