Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland rose 9.1 percent year on year to 62.52 billion yuan (9.6 billion U.S. dollars) in August, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Thursday.

In the first eight months, FDI dropped 0.2 percent year on year to 547.94 billion yuan.

The trend for more foreign investment in high-end sectors continued.

High-tech manufacturing saw FDI rise 15 percent to 43.69 billion yuan, while foreign investment in high-tech services surged 21.4 percent to 81.44 billion yuan.

Non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) by Chinese companies dropped 41.8 percent year on year in the first eight months to 68.72 billion U.S. dollars, mainly due to government measures to curb irrational investment.

As the government moved to curb irrational investment, there were no new investment projects in real estate, sports and entertainment sectors, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, outbound investment to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative stood at 8.55 billion dollars, accounting for 12.4 percent of the total ODI, up 4.3 percentage points from the same period in 2016.

While Chinese companies are going global, FDI still makes great sense for China today.

From research and development centers and technological spillover to the acquisition of world-class management skills, the impact of FDI in China is huge.

The Chinese leadership has promised to create "a stable, fair, transparent and predictable business environment," with a range of measures underway.

China has created 11 free trade zones where foreign firms can avoid red tape when applying for registration. It is shortening the list of sectors that are off-limits to foreign investors, as well as reducing market entry restrictions for industries such as transport and financial services.