The 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade, known as CIFIT, will run from September 8 to 11 in Xiamen, Fujian province. Speaking ahead of the event, commerce officials and local leaders said China's intensified push to attract foreign capital and expand two way investment cooperation would help global businesses tap opportunities in its vast market and innovation driven industrial upgrading, while underscoring the country's commitment to opening up.
Scale of the fair and its guest countries
Ling Ji, vice minister of commerce and deputy China international trade representative, told a news conference in Beijing that the fair has drawn delegations from 123 countries and regions, 60 of which will take part as exhibitors. Finland and Saudi Arabia will serve as guest countries of honor, with Saudi Arabia sending a large economic delegation for the first time after its investment into China surged 343.7 percent year on year in the first seven months of the year. Zhao Zenglian, vice governor of Fujian, said this year's fair spans 200,000 square meters with 14 specialized zones across three sections covering inbound investment, Chinese investment abroad, and international investment.
The latest shifts in foreign investment
Commerce ministry figures show 37,711 new foreign invested enterprises were established in China in the first seven months of the year, up 4.4 percent year on year, while foreign direct investment actually used totaled 438.33 billion yuan, or about 65.23 billion US dollars, with the pace of decline easing from a year earlier. FDI in high tech industries rose 32.7 percent year on year and now accounts for more than 40 percent of the national total. Ling said foreign investors are looking beyond labor and land costs toward China's industrial ecosystem, infrastructure, and access to green power and computing capacity, while Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said companies are increasingly treating deeper investment in China as a hedge against external shocks amid rising protectionism and geopolitical tension.
Outbound investment climbs too
On the outbound side, Ling said China's outward FDI flows rose 11.1 percent year on year to 213.58 billion US dollars in 2025, with accumulated outward FDI reaching 3.4 trillion US dollars, ranking among the world's top three for a ninth consecutive year. A State Council report on the implementation of this year's economic and social development plan, submitted to the National People's Congress Standing Committee for review, called for broader trade and economic cooperation in the second half of the year, expanded trade in services, more balanced trade, stronger management of outbound investment and support for Chinese companies abroad, and continued efforts to attract and make better use of foreign investment.
