BEIJING, May 26 -- The number of new foreign-invested companies in China posted steady expansion in the first quarter (Q1) of the year as the recovery of cross-border business activities has picked up pace, the State Administration of Market Regulation said Friday.

A total of 11,000 new foreign-invested companies were established in the January-March period, a 7.6-percent increase year on year, according to data from the market regulator.

In March alone, China saw 4,818 new foreign-invested enterprises established, surging 44 percent from a year ago and bringing the total number of registered foreign-invested firms to 675,000 as of the end of Q1.

Among Q1's new foreign-invested enterprises, 91.9 percent were in the services sectors. In particular, firms in accommodation and catering posted a robust year-on-year increase of 22 percent, the data showed.