China utilized US$54 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first 10 months, up 11.2 percent over the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce announced here on Monday.

The country approved the establishment of 30,826 foreign-funded companies in the period, down 6.78 percent, said the ministry.

In October, 2,620 foreign-funded companies were approved, down 14percent over the same period a year earlier, while the actual use of FDI rose 13.18 percent to US$6.78 billion.

During the same period, the United States recorded a drop of 15.9 percent in the number of enterprises it established in China, and the FDI also fell 5.95 percent.

Currently, more than 28 million people, or about 10 percent of China's employed population in cities and towns, work in foreign-funded enterprises.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2007)