Foreign direct investment in China’s high-tech companies reached 200.26 billion yuan—about $29.92 billion—during the first eight months of 2026, up 35.1% from the same period a year earlier, according to data from China’s Ministry of Commerce.
These investments accounted for 41.7% of all foreign direct investment received by the country, a share that rose 12.4 percentage points year over year. Economists and executives cited by China Daily link the trend to the expansion of fields including artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, and green technologies, as well as to the country’s industrial capacity and supply chains.
Huo Jianguo, former president of the China Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said technological innovation and the development of these supply chains are prompting foreign companies to expand their presence in research, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technologies. Marshall Mills, the International Monetary Fund’s senior resident representative in China, said more efficient capital allocation, stronger incentives for innovation, and further development of financial markets could translate technological advances into stronger productivity growth.
Industrial projects in Shanghai and Suzhou
Recent investments include a co-creation center opened by German group Freudenberg in Shanghai in mid-September for its research and development activities in humanoid robotics. The company, which operates 30 plants and employs more than 7,000 people in China, plans to develop sealing, lubrication, and vibration-control components in the country for robots serving both the Chinese and international markets.
U.S.-based Americhem, which specializes in plastic compounds and additives, began operations at a new clean-production facility in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in late September. According to the company, the plant will expand its capacity to serve customers in China and other Asia-Pacific markets, particularly in the health care sector.
