BEIJING — Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland fell 10.8 percent year-on-year in the first three months of 2020 influenced by the novel coronavirus outbreak, a commerce official said on April 15.

The FDI totaled 216.19 billion yuan (about $31.2 billion) in Jan-March period, said the Ministry of Commerce.

A breakdown of the data showed FDI decreased 14.1 percent year-on-year in March but the decline was 11.5 percentage points narrower than that in February.

Foreign investment in high-tech services surged 15.5 percent year-on-year in the first three months, accounting for 29.9 percent of the service sector.

China will seek further opening-up and upgrade of foreign trade and investment, to offset its economic shock brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ministry earlier.

To facilitate foreign investment, China will shorten the negative list on foreign investment, further open up the service sector and improve China's business environment.