China trade ministry says foreign investment not leaving country

[BEIJING] China is still importing more capital than it is exporting and foreign investment is not leaving the country, the Chinese trade ministry said on Thursday.

Shen Danyang, the spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said only a minority of firms are not adjusting to China's "new normal" for economic growth.

Data out earlier on Thursday showed foreign direct investment (FDI) in China rose 2.2 per cent on the year in March, while outbound flows posted a milder rise, as foreign corporate investors remain undeterred by weakening domestic economic performance.

That brings inbound FDI up 11.3 per cent to US$34.88 billion for the first quarter.

Outbound investment for the first three months of the year combined rose 29.6 per cent from the same period in 2014 to US$25.79 billion.

REUTERS