- China: Foreign investment in China rose by 14.9% in 2001 on the previous year, totalling $46.85 bn. Adding the sum of investment contracts, FDI reached $69.19 bn, up 10.43% on 2000. In 2001, 26,139 new companies were given authorisation to set up in China, taking the total number of foreign countries in the country to 390,484, according to the Chinese government. In the previous year (2000), foreign investment in China remained stable, rising by no more than 0.7%.