BEIJING, Oct. 20 -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Chinese mainland in actual use stood at 919.97 billion yuan (about 128 billion U.S. dollars) in the first nine months of the year, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.

The figure decreased 8.4 percent from a year earlier, said the ministry.

During the period, 37,814 new foreign-invested firms were set up across the country, up 32.4 percent year on year.

FDI in manufacturing rose 2.4 percent year on year, with that in high-tech manufacturing up 12.8 percent.

During the period, FDI from France, the United Kingdom and Canada surged by 121.7 percent, 116.9 percent and 109.2 percent, respectively, data from the ministry shows.