The World Investment Report 2017 issued by the United Nations says China has become the third most attractive economy for investment, though investment flows to developing economies were especially hard hit.

A fresh report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development says global FDI lost growth momentum in 2016 but is seeing a modest recovery in 2017.

The World Investment Report also listed expectations on the future investment environment.

Team leader of the report, James X. Zhan, said that China’s foreign direct investment slightly decreased but remains at a high level.

“China’s FDI only slipped 1 percent year on year in 2016. It’s a pretty good figure compared with a two percent decrease of global FDI and 14 percent down of developing countries’ FDI.”

Zhan said the unsatisfactory investment resulted from uncertainties and risks brought by international geopolitics.

“Policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks could hamper the recovery. But China could take advantage of its ideal status for foreign investors. Meanwhile, China is optimizing its structure to attract foreign investment. That’s very important.”

The UN report showed that FDI prospects are moderately positive in most regions.

The report also showed that tax policy changes could influence FDI. At the same time, protectionism significantly affected cross-border investment and decreased investment in other countries.