A bird's-eye view of Xiamen, Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province reached 2.2 billion yuan ($346.35 million) in January, an increase of 11.7 percent year-on-year, the municipal bureau of commerce reported on Feb 14.

Xiamen has been beefing up its efforts to create a new FDI mode. The city is a financial innovation hub in Fujian province that adheres to the relevant policies, investigates innovative ways of attracting investment through foundations, and encourages the return investment of high-quality firms that are listed overseas.

The city has also been making space for foreign invested projects in new industries, and encouraging companies to use foreign investment.

For instance, Huli district encouraged foreign investment corporations such as the We Doctor Group to set up offices and industrial parks in formerly known rural areas.

Xiamen has also been exploring new channels for foreign investment, such as integrating foreign-related resources, cooperating closely with foreign-related organizations and institutions, and actively recruiting foreign investors, in light of the difficult situation of severe restrictions on international financial and personnel flows since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Officials from the municipal bureau of commerce met with a delegation from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization's ITPO China (Beijing) and discussed a collaboration strategy for this year.