BEIJING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) - China has been an ideal destination for foreign investment for decades. However, when foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country fell amid the global economic slowdown, some wonder if China is losing its glamour.
Latest statistics show the total FDI inflow for the first eight months this year dropped 3.4 percent to 74.99 billion U.S. dollars, which may fuel the worries, or even allegations against China's environment for foreign investment.
However, in east China's Anhui, an inland province which used to be less attractive to foreign investors, the picture is a bit different.
With a total investment of 280 million U.S. dollars, a joint venture wwas officially established in August by the Navistar International Corporation, a U.S.-based manufacturer of commercial vehicles, and its Chinese partner Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co.(JAC).
The joint venture is expected to produce 150,000 diesel engines annually after it goes into operation. Troy Clarke, president of Navistar Truck & Engine, called the joint venture "a significant step in Navistar' s global growth."
Statistics from the Anhui Provincial Department of Commerce show the province attracted 5.36 billion U.S. dollars in foreign direct investment in the first seven months, up 25.5 percent year on year.
Even with an overall drop in national FDI inflow in the first eight months, investment from Germany, the Netherlands and France increased by 27.27 percent, 3.3 percent and 14.78 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, the FDI into the country's service industry, excluding the real estate sector, rose 5.31 percent year on year in the first eight months of 2012. Boosted by growing domestic consumption, foreign investment in the retail sector rose 9.76 percent.
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