BEIJING — China's pilot free trade zones (FTZs) attracted robust foreign investment and trade in the first seven months of the year despite downcast sentiment in the global market, official data showed on Sept 2.

The six pilot FTZs in the regions of Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Hebei, Yunnan and Heilongjiang, as well as Shanghai's Lingang Area, a newly launched section of the Shanghai FTZ, attracted 13.11 billion yuan (about $1.9 billion) of foreign investment during the January-July period, Tang Wenhong, an official from the Ministry of Commerce, said at a news conference.

Foreign trade in those FTZs came in at 660.76 billion yuan in the seven-month period, accounting for 10.8 percent of the total foreign trade in the regions.

The pilot FTZs have played a positive role in stabilizing foreign trade and investment amid the sluggish international market, Tang said.

As institutional reforms continue to deepen, the FTZs will make further contributions to the country's pursuit of higher-level opening-up, noted Tang.