He Yadong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, disclosed at a regular press briefing on October 15 that the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant authorities, has finished compiling the 2025 annual report data on foreign investment information.

The data shows that 461,000 foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) submitted annual reports in 2025, up 5.7% year-on-year. China’s FDI equity stock stood at 26.8 trillion yuan, growing for six consecutive years and ranking second worldwideXinhua.

“The rising number of enterprises filing annual reports and continuous growth in equity stock point to an improved environment for attracting foreign investment. Foreign firms keep expanding operations and increasing capital investment in China,” said Fu Yifu, special researcher at Soochow Bank, in an interview with the Shanghai Securities News.

MOFCOM data indicated that the average profit margin of reporting FIEs reached 8.7%. Specifically, the profit margin of foreign manufacturing enterprises was 2.2 percentage points higher than that of large-scale industrial enterprises nationwide. FIEs accounted for one-third of China’s total goods trade volume and one-seventh of national tax revenue, and have created more than 30 million jobs annually over the past five years.

“These figures fully prove that China’s ultra-large market can deliver tangible returns. We welcome companies from all countries to continue rooting their businesses in China and sharing the dividends of development,” He Yadong remarked.

In recent years, China has steadily advanced high-level opening-up, rolled out the Invest in China brand campaign, improved services for foreign enterprises, and accelerated the upgrading of open economic platforms. As a result, foreign investment inflows have stabilized and improved in quality overall.

New MOFCOM figures show that in the first eight months of this year, 42,582 new foreign-invested enterprises were established nationwide, rising by 0.3% year-on-year. The actual utilized foreign capital reached 479.95 billion yuan. Investment in high-tech industries surged by 35.1% year-on-year, accounting for 41.7% of the total utilized FDI, with the proportion continuing to climb.

Fu Yifu analyzed that the robust growth in high-tech sectors reflects a shift in foreign investment from low-cost manufacturing toward innovation, market access and supply chain layout, keeping pace with China’s industrial upgrading. “Greater investment in high-tech and high-value-added sectors will strengthen the long-term competitiveness of foreign businesses,” he added.

Stabilizing foreign investment is a policy priority for the second half of the year. A string of new measures will be rolled out at a faster pace, including revising and issuing the Provisions on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, releasing a negative list of encouraged and prohibited items for local government investment promotion, and expanding pilot zones for opening up the biotechnology sector and wholly foreign-owned hospitals.

Further opening-up of the service sector will be the next key focus. The National Development and Reform Commission stated that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will expand opening-up in telecommunications, internet, education, culture, healthcare and other sectors in an orderly manner, and appropriately shorten the negative list for foreign investment access to provide broader investment space for foreign firms.

Fu Yifu noted that stabilizing foreign investment hinges on stabilizing expectations, regulatory rules and investment returns. Policy support will shift from preferential incentives to broader market access and greater policy certainty. China will further advance institutional opening-up, ensure equal treatment both for market entry and post-establishment operations, shorten the negative list, and enable foreign investors to tap long-term business opportunities through fair competition.

Source: Shanghai Securities News