(Yicai Global) Dec. 30 -- China's foreign direct investment in actual use is set to reach USD140 billion this year, an all-time high, the Ministry of Commerce said.

This will bring the country’s FDI over the period of the 13th Five Year Plan from 2016 to 2020 to around USD690 billion, an 11.5-fold increase from the 12th Five-Year-Plan, the ministry said on Dec. 25. The government’s Five-Year Plans set targets and directions for the long-term development of the national economy.

China accounted for 9.2 percent of the world’s total FDI in 2019, up from 6.6 percent in 2015, and is expected to hold an even bigger proportion this year despite the overall decline in transnational investments, the ministry said. The country has ranked second in the world in terms of foreign capital inflows for three years in a row from 2017 to 2019.

Foreign capital has made a big contribution to the development of China’s economy, the ministry said. Exports by foreign-backed firms came to USD3.9 trillion between 2016 and 2019, accounting for 41.7 percent of the total. Their imports amounted to USD3.4 trillion, 44.8 percent of the total. These firms have helped generate 40 million jobs as of the end of last year, around 10 percent of employment in cities, it added.

China has also been consolidating its position as a major investor overseas and is already among the top three countries in the world in terms of outward direct investment. It has seen an average capital outflow of USD148 billion per year between 2016 and 2020.

Chinese companies had established 44,000 businesses abroad as of the end of 2019, totaling an outward investment of USD2.2 trillion, third highest in the world. Together they hold overseas assets worth USD7.2 trillion.

China has signed 202 contracts with 138 countries and 31 international organizations so far for the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, a colossal infrastructure project stretching from East Asia to Europe. There has been stable growth in investment in and cooperation with countries along the BRI route between 2016 and 2020, with USD90 billion in aggregate investments, USD670 billion worth of newly contracted projects and USD420 billion in completed turnover, it said.

Editors: Xu Wei, Kim Taylor