Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) of China stood at $12.5 billion in June, soaring 39.6 percent year on year. The figure for the first half of the year was $51.4 billion, and newly approved foreign companies numbered 12,400, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Among the world's major FDI recipients, China was the second largest in 2009 with around $95 billion after the United States, said the World Investment Report recently issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

China's economic rebalancing and industrial upgrade are expected to create new opportunities for foreign investors, those with cutting-edge technology and research prowess, in particular, said James X. Zhan, Director of Davison of Investment and Enterprise under the UNCTAD, on release ceremony of the report.

Meanwhile, outward investments are also on the rise with the economy gaining strength, said Zhan. The report said outward FDI of China at $48 billion in 2009, ranking at the sixth place in the world.

As Chinese companies head overseas, they face daunting challenges of protectionist restrictions, as well as political risks like riots and wars. This has enhanced the need to build a reliable investment insurance system to protect interests of Chinese investors, said Zhan.

Global FDI witnessed a modest, but uneven recovery in the first half of 2010. The gradual improvement of macroeconomic conditions, corporate profits and stock market valuations observed in early 2010 is expected to continue, supporting renewed business confidence, said the report.

Developing and transition economies attracted half of global FDI inflows, and invested one quarter of global FDI outflows, it said.