China used a total of $5.2 billion of foreign direct investment in January, up 13.9 per cent over last year, the ministry of commerce said.
The country also approved the establishment of 3,370 foreign-invested firms last month, up 10.7 per cent over the corresponding period of 2006.
The top 10 countries and regions that invested in China included Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the US and Taiwan.
However, investment from the European Union dropped by 68.85 per cent in January. The ministry did not give reasons for the decline.