Foreign investment in China slowed for the third straight month in March compared to the same period last year, highlighting the difficulty for Beijing to attract more foreign money to boost its economy, according to Bloomberg.
Actual new foreign investment in China reached 87 billion yuan ($12 billion) last month, according to calculations based on figures provided by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday. This represents a decrease of 38% compared to the same month in 2023.
Vice Minister of Commerce Guo Tingting said that inward investments during the first three months of the year amounted to 301 billion yuan, down 26% from the same period last year. She attributed this sharp decline to the high comparison base with the first quarter of 2023, which witnessed a record influx of investments.
China has sought to persuade foreign companies to invest in the country since it reopened after years of lockdown caused by the Covid outbreak. But foreign companies have largely backed off, citing geopolitical tensions and the country's uncertain growth prospects.
A survey of US companies at the beginning of this year showed that nearly half of all respondents had no plans to expand their investments in the country, even as some grew increasingly optimistic about improving US-China relations.
Beijing has pledged to take steps to create an environment that makes it easier for foreign companies to do business, although European Union and US officials have recently raised concerns that foreign companies are being treated unfairly in the world's second-largest economy.
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