Foreign direct investment into China fell 5% year over year in the first half to 402.1 billion yuan, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.
The pace of drop was softer than the 8.6% contraction in the first five months of the year. The Trading Economics forecast was for a 9% decline.
During the first half, 31,617 new foreign-invested companies were established in China, up 5.3% from a year earlier.
By industry, FDI in the manufacturing sector hit 105 billion yuan, while the services sector attracted 289.6 billion yuan.