China 2018 FDI up 0.9 percent in yuan terms: commerce ministry

BEIJING (Reuters) - Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China rose 0.9 percent last year to 885.61 billion yuan ($130.93 billion), the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday.

In December, FDI into China rose 24.9 percent year-on-year to 92.34 billion yuan, the commerce ministry said.

In the whole of 2018, foreign direct investment into China from the United States increased 7.7 percent from a year earlier, the ministry added.

Over the weekend, state media published the transcript of an interview in which Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said FDI into China increased 3 percent in dollar-terms in 2018.

Zhong said China will reduce restrictions on foreign investments and address difficulties facing foreign firms investing in the country.

($1 = 6.7640 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Richard Borsuk)