The foreign direct investment (FDI) China received in April rose by 25 percent year on year compared with March's 12.08 percent, said an official from Ministry of Commerce Thursday.

The figure brought FDI growth for the first four months to 11.3 percent from a year earlier, Liu Yajun, director of the ministry's investment promotion department, said at an international investment summit in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province.

But Liu gave no specific amount for April FDI. In April 2009, FDI stood at $5.9 billion, down 22.51 from the previous April, according to MOC data.

China's FDI started to rebound in August last year after a sharp decrease in the first half because of the global financial crisis. The recovery was boosted by the nation's stimulus measures, improved investment environment and strong foreign investor confidence, said Liu.

At the end of March, foreign investment in China had topped $1 trillion since the nation first opened to overseas investors in 1978, said Liu.

Foreign investment actually utilized last year fell only 2.6 percent, compared with a 40-percent annual decline in foreign investment globally weighed down by the economic downturn, said Liu.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2010)