The used foreign direct investment (FDI) in China rose 10.17 percent year on year to 20.359 billion U.S. dollars in the first four months this year, said Wang Xinpei, spokesman of Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.

In April alone, the FDI used in China stood at 4.47 billion U.S. dollars, up 5.49 percent, Wang said.

A total of 12,349 new foreign-funded companies were set up in the country in the January-April period, a drop of 2.29 percent, Wang said.

Although China has been the largest recipient of foreign investment among all developing nations for 15 years, there is much to be done to improve both of its quality and quantity, Vice Premier Wu Yi has said.

China is to channel more foreign investment into research and development centers, new high-tech industries, advanced manufacturing, and the energy conservation and environment-friendly sectors.

At the same time, investment that helps upgrade China's agriculture and traditional manufacturing is also encouraged.

While receiving large amounts of FDI, Chinese companies have been actively investing overseas, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The overseas investment of Chinese multinationals totaled 16.1 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 32 percent year on year.

According to the 2006 World Investment Report by the United Nations, China's overseas investment only accounted for around 1 percent of the global foreign investment last year, much less than its 4 percent share of global GDP and its contribution of 7 percent of world trade.