Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China is expected to total about US$57 billion in 2003, said a high ranking official Monday in Xiamen, in east China's Fujian Province.

In a prepared speech at the 7th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), Minister of Commerce Lu Fuyuan said that in the past 25 years, China has adhered to the policy of encouraging foreign investment and spared no efforts in improving investment environment.

In 2002, China used 52.7 billion US dollars of foreign direct investment, setting a record in China's history and ranking the first place in the world.

In the January-July period this year, China approved the establishment of 22,245 new foreign-funded firms, with contractual FDI totaling 59.2 billion US dollars. Actual inflow of FDI totaled 33.4 billion US dollars during the period.
 
(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2003)