(PHOTO / VCG)

BEIJING — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland fell 8.6 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2020 amid the combined impacts of the novel coronavirus outbreak and the extended Lunar New Year holidays, a commerce official said Friday.

FDI totaled 134.4 billion yuan (about US$19.2 billion) for January and February, said Zong Changqing, director of the foreign investment department under the Ministry of Commerce.

A breakdown of the data showed FDI inflows climbed 4 percent year-on-year in January but plunged 25.6 percent in February, Zong told a press conference.

The epidemic will not change the attraction of China's large and booming market for foreign investment

Zong Changqing, Director of the foreign investment department under the Ministry of Commerce

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Zong warned about a complex and grim FDI situation for the whole year, citing factors such as "a shrinking global FDI cake" and increasing downward pressure on the world economy.

However, Zong expressed confidence over the long term, saying China's economic fundamentals for sustaining long-term sound development remain unchanged, and the country maintains its edge in industrial chains, talent resources and infrastructure.

"The epidemic will not change the attraction of China's large and booming market for foreign investment," he said.

Instead of being chilled by the epidemic shock, some far-sighted multinationals have decided to pick up speed in expanding their presence in China, Zong said.

READ MORE: China's FDI rises 5.8% to over 940b yuan in 2019

As the latest evidence, Starbucks announced a plan to build a coffee innovation park in east China's Jiangsu Province. With an initial investment of US$130 million, the innovation park is expected to be the largest manufacturing investment by the world's leading coffee chain outside the United States.

China will make further efforts to widen market access and create an equitable and better business environment for both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises, Premier Li Keqiang said in a congratulatory letter on Friday to the signing ceremony of the coffee innovation park.