China saw 35,000 newly established foreign-invested enterprises in the first half of 2026, up 7 percent year on year, the State Administration for Market Regulation said Saturday.

By region, both major exporting provinces and border regions recorded growth in newly established foreign-invested enterprises, according to the administration.

Among the major exporting provinces, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises rose 38.6 percent year on year in Hainan, 15.2 percent in Shandong, 8.1 percent in Guangdong and 6.8 percent in Jiangsu.

With the launch of island-wide special customs operations at the Hainan Free Trade Port on Dec. 18, 2025, Hainan has introduced a series of opening-up policies aimed at fostering a foreign investor-friendly business environment.

By sector, the consumer market emerged as a new area attracting foreign investment. The number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in health and social work increased 27.1 percent year on year, while those in wholesale and retail rose 11.9 percent and those in accommodation and catering grew 11.7 percent.

Separate data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that almost 4,800 foreign-funded enterprises made additional investments in China in the first half of this year, while foreign direct investment in high-tech industries surged 33.2 percent year on year.

In June, China's commerce ministry, alongside other government departments, released an action plan to stabilize and optimize foreign investment utilization, detailing 15 measures.

The plan prioritizes wider market access in the services sector and also calls for efforts to promote the "Invest China" initiative and ensure foreign-funded enterprises' concerns over equal participation in government procurement and fair access to business operations are fully addressed.