Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China declined 16% year-on-year to US$5.83 billion in February, the Wall Street Journal reported. The fall was not as sharp as the 33% drop seen in January but it is the fifth month in a row that FDI in China has fallen. Total foreign investment for the first two months of 2009 came to US$13.37 billion, down 26% year-on-year. Combining the January and February data removes the distorting effect of the Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in January this year but in February last year. The decline in FDI shows that the global economic downturn is not just hurting Chinese exports. A survey of US companies published last week by the American Chamber of Commerce in China found that 39% of respondents are postponing or have cancelled planned investments this year. The survey also found that 21% of respondents expect to downsize their China work force.
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