BERLIN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China continued to be one of the leading sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Germany last year, according to a report released on Monday by Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), the federal agency responsible for promoting foreign investment.

Chinese companies initiated 199 FDI projects in Germany last year, nearly matching the 200 projects recorded in 2023. The 2023 figure marked a 42-percent year-on-year increase and the highest level since 2017. Among all source countries, China ranked third, following the United States and Switzerland.

The report noted that Germany attracted a total of 1,724 FDI projects in 2024, excluding mergers and acquisitions. This represents a slight decline from 1,759 projects in 2023 and 1,783 in 2022, highlighting the growing share of Chinese participation in Germany's FDI landscape in recent years.

In 2024, seven projects involved investment volumes exceeding 500 million euros (555 million U.S. dollars), including some backed by Chinese investors.

Thomas Bozoyan, the report's author and a GTAI expert, noted that China continues to play a pivotal role in Germany's foreign investment profile. He emphasized that Germany has emerged as a key beneficiary of China's expanding commercial footprint across Europe.

Bozoyan pointed out that Chinese investment is increasingly focused on high-tech industrial sectors such as renewable energy, battery supply chains, automotive, medical technology, and robotics, with a particular emphasis on software-driven solutions within these fields.

According to the report, Chinese companies launched 31 projects in the renewable energy sector in 2024. Roughly one-quarter of all Chinese FDI projects in Germany involved either production facilities or research and development operations.

Bozoyan also noted that beyond Germany, China's outbound investment has shown strong global growth, particularly accelerating after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollar)■