Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China rose for the sixth consecutive month in January, up 7.79 percent year on year to US$8.13 billion, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Saturday.

The government approved the establishment of 1,866 overseas-funded ventures in January, a year-on-year increase of 24.73 percent, the MOC said in a brief statement posted on its website.

FDI in January mainly flowed into the manufacturing sector, despite an overall decrease in the sector of 11.57 percent year on year, according to the statement. The sector attracted 48.65 percent of total FDI.

In January, China's non-financial investments in foreign markets stood at 2.36 billion U.S. dollars, the MOC said.